


Step Into The Past (and Become My Future)

by TinyPhantomSalad (AlexanderOfAlexandria)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Back to the Future References, Bisexual Poe Dameron, Canon-Typical Violence, Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts, Finn loves comic books, Fluff and Angst, Force-Sensitive Finn (Star Wars), Fuck Canon, I really don't know what I'm doing you have to yell at me, I spent way too much time on wookieepiedia, Kylo Ren is Not Nice, Like, M/M, Missions Gone Wrong, No reylo, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Oblivious Finn (Star Wars), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Finn (Star Wars), POV Poe Dameron, Pilot Poe Dameron, Poe Dameron Being a Little Shit, Poe and Finn go on a mission, Post-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Pre-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Prophetic Dreams, Rey being a little shit, Slow Burn, TLJ and TROS don't exist here, The Last Jedi Alternative, Time Travel, because thats writing babey!!!, i miss my outline, idk yet, im making it up as i go along, it's not dead i just ignore it, slower than your grandma slow, there might be smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:08:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23570602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexanderOfAlexandria/pseuds/TinyPhantomSalad
Summary: With the threat of the First Order still looming over them, and Rey off searching for answers in Luke Skywalker; Finn can't help the monsters that creep into his thoughts. He loves the Resistance. He loves his friends. So when these monsters seep into his dreams he can't help but feel like there is something much, much more dangerous afoot. Something even more frightening than his growing feelings for Poe.Poe and Finn are given a mission- one that could force them to face the truth of the galaxy's past, and their feelings for one another.Updates regularly!!
Relationships: Armitage Hux & Kylo Ren, Finn & Rey (Star Wars), Finn & Rose Tico, Poe Dameron & Jessika Pava, Poe Dameron/Finn, Rey/Rose Tico
Comments: 30
Kudos: 50





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!! 2020 is currently horrific and I wanted to give you and I both a bit of an escape. I hope over the next six months this story will develop the way I planned (it most certainly will not) and I hope that this is at least good enough for someone (my writing ability is sub-par at best)  
> I hope you enjoy this!

Smoke and sweat and heat clogged the bucket of Finn’s helmet. This was  _ wrong,  _ it was all  _ wrong.  _ The screaming around him bounced off of his armour like hail, the sickly metallic tang of blood made his stomach turn. His insides roiled as he moved blindly in the reddish blackness, stumbling across whatever hellscape he was in. Finn opened his mouth and screamed- for Rey, for Poe, for  _ anyone  _ who could help him; but his vocal cords constricted in his throat and no sound came out. 

Suddenly the sand gave out beneath his feet and his knees hit cold hard durasteel. His bucket was gone but instead of the hellfire of red and black his vision was clouded with sterile white and silver. A dizzying stillness overtook him as the screeching came to a halt, he was left with nothing but the dull buzz of a blaster being pressed against the back of his head,

“FN-2187,” the electric crackle of Phasma’s voice sounded in his ears, “to be executed for treason and crimes against the First Order.” 

Finn tried to breathe.  _ That isn’t his name. This is wrong this is wrong this is wrong this is wro- _

Finn sat bolt upright with a strangled gasp, scrabbling for purchase on the sheets of his bunk. He squeezed his eyes shut.  _ My name is Finn. I am part of the resistance base on D’Qar. My best friends are Rey and Poe Dameron.  _

_ I escaped the First Order.  _


	2. I Have a Bad Feeling About This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn's got a monster problem and their new mission isn't the half of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OkaY  
> HEY  
> hi  
> So chapter one.....   
> I should be updating every week or so (give or take) because quarantine sucks and people need something to look forward to (even if this flops because hey 38 hits isn't nothing and I'm dsbdfhsb about it) :;;;;;;)))))))  
> love you all!!!!  
> tumblr: @/flyboy-and-fight-me

“You look like hell,” Poe said, sliding into the seat next to him. 

Finn groaned, “Sleep deprivation will do that to you, Dameron- I thought you’d know that better than anyone.” He looked up from his caff, too tired to laugh at the absolutely  _ scandalised  _ look Poe was giving him. The pilot opened his mouth to say something but the words died on his lips as his expression softened- it always seemed to do that when he was talking to Finn- or BB-8 for that matter. 

“Nightmares again?” He asked, Finn nodded, Poe rested a hand on his shoulder. “Need anything?”

“No, no I should be okay- have we heard anything from Rey?” He took a long sip of his caff, grimacing at the bitter taste.

“Not yet-” he replied, “but she’ll be okay, she’s tough.” Finn looked up at him and tried for a tired smile which Poe returned with ease. His black hair curled artfully on his head and his eyes still a little bleary- it was unfair how attractive he was in the mornings.

“What have you got today?” He asked, trying to turn the subject from his absent friend. Rey had left to look for Luke Skywalker a few standard months ago and they’d only been hearing from her every other week since; even then the messages were short. 

“I have a recon mission on some weird activity in the jungle,” he sighed, “you?”

“Dr. Kalonia said that if I’m not in the medbay by eight I’ll be one of her patients instead of an assistant.” 

Poe snorted, Finn had been spending more and more time in the medbay since he’d gotten there. He liked being able to help people when they needed it, and Dr. Kalonia never treated him any differently from any of the other trainees- even when he was called away by the General for Intelligence business.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Finn?” Poe asked softly, “do you want to talk about it?”

Poe’s hand returned to its spot on his shoulder, Finn had left their shared bunk earlier than normal and by the soft crease of the pilot’s brow he’d sussed his friend’s feelings.

“I’m okay. I promise,”

Poe squeezed him on the shoulder and exited Mess, Finn’s eyes following him until he was out of sight. A stone formed in the pit of his stomach, making his stomach roil with anxiety. It was like being stuck in a vacuum state- everything was dampened and dulled and there was this unending feeling of doom pawing at his skull.

Probably just the food.

__

Finn was stacking bacta in one of the teeny little storage rooms they had on the D’Qar base- he wasn’t bulky by any means and he certainly wasn’t a giant- unlike Snap who towered a good half a foot over him  _ and  _ Poe- but they were indeed small. Kriffing hell, even C3-PO would hardly be able to fit in here and he was skin and bone- well, metal and wire. __

Dr Kalonia had sent him in to make sure they had enough stock for the next month, and the dingy grey-blackness of the unlit store room was doing no favours for Finn’s weird monster growing in his stomach. He could probably give the damn thing a name by the way it was hounding his thoughts. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. Stars, if Rey could hear him now. He chuckled out loud to himself, she’d roll her eyes and tell him that the Force is trying to tell him something.

It’s not that he wasn’t constantly in awe of the Force, because he definitely was, it was just that associating himself with such a  _ legendary  _ thing was absurd. He was normal, and normal people got little monsters in their bellies and senses of impending doom, right? Maybe. He didn’t really want to think about it too much and spiral into an existential crisis- especially considering he’s finished with the Bacta creams and had been staring at the labelling for five minutes.

Yeah, totally normal.

His thoughts drifted back to Poe for a moment, and the way he’d looked at him during breakfast this morning. The look in question had become more and more frequent the past few months and it wasn’t entirely unwelcome. Finn liked Poe- he was the first person to give him a choice,  _ Finn, I’m gonna call you Finn- is that alright?  _ He smiled at the memory. It had been the only choice anyone had ever given him- to take wholeheartedly or to reject and find a name himself and he was glad that he took it. Finn was a person, not a number. 

Poe was as rugged and reckless as ever and he’d come to learn that that was  _ definitely  _ not unheard of at the base- even the General regarded him with such an exasperated fondness that you just couldn’t help but admire.

Then there was Snap and Jess and Bastian and the entire Black Squadron. They’d all welcomed him, and he was proud of this weird little family he’d made. Yes, there was still an entire war going on- but what do you fight for if not the little things in life?

“FINN!” Dr. Kalonia’s voice called round to him. Finn jumped a little as he was pulled from his thoughts and banged his head on one of the shelves, then glared at it like it was the shelf’s fault. He knew it wasn’t but it felt better to blame the inanimate object.

The sterile medbay room was bustling with people and wisps of grey-brown hair floated around Dr. Kalonia’s head like she’d been recently electrocuted- her wild sleep-deprived eyes did nothing to help that aesthetic.

“You wanted to see me?” Finn asked politely, Dr. Kalonia gave him a patient smile and jutted her head to the little orange and white droid at their feet, BB-8 beeped in what Finn could only assume was a greeting.

He still needed those Binary lessons Poe was always talking about.

“Hey!” He smiled down to the little sphere, who made three warbling beeps in quick succession, 

“The General wants to talk to you, Finn,” Kalonia said, tucking a stray hair behind her ear, 

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay he-” Finn stopped as Kalonia gave him a heatless glare,

“General’s orders, go!” She smiled.

BB-8 beeped happily as they made their way through the base to the General’s office. Finn had picked up a few words or phrases that the drois seemed to use a lot… cussing was a major part of BB-8’s vocabulary, apparently. It did belong to  _ Poe  _ after all. Finn hummed along to whatever the droid was telling him and followed it to the General’s office which was still pretty intimidating despite him being in there multiple times.

The door slid open easily, revealing two figures huddled around the table in the centre, he knew the stark silhouette of Poe immediately- all broad shoulders and curly hair. He was someone you could catch a glimpse of in a crowd and remember for the rest of your life; his brow was furrowed in concentration as he spoke to Leia, his voice hushed and calculating. It was the same look he got whenever he’d go over blueprints for his ships- looking at all the possible improvements he could make, carrying on well into the night and probably never getting sleep if it weren’t for Finn practically manhandling him from his seat and telling him  _ they’ll still be there in the morning. _

Poe finally caught Finn’s eye and his face split into a wide lopsided grin, yeah, that had been happening a lot too- all those looks that made Finn feel so unguarded… so vulnerable whenever Poe looked at him like that. Leia turned and gave him a smile- like the ones you’d expect a mother to give, like the ones she often gave Poe. He gave a little wave back at them both,

“You asked to see me, ma’am?” Finn ducked his head as he made his way over to the table, taking his place beside Poe, who gave him a reassuring smile- albeit a smidge confused.

“Yes- we have had reports from our contacts in the field- snitches that are friendly with Order operatives. There are… rumours, about assassinations.”

Finn balked, taken aback by the apprehensiveness coming off the general. The little monster in the pit of his stomach began to churn again, writhing underneath his skin and doing funny things to his intestines.

“What’s going on, General?” Poe asked, the General was silent for a moment, pondering.

“We have intel that there is an attack planned.”

“General- ma’am,” Finn stammered, “what’s going on?” __

Leia took a deep breath, setting her jaw, “What we speak of now does not leave this room.” She stated, 

Poe glanced at him and they caught each other’s eye for a moment- they both knew they were going to trust their General with their lives, no question. They nodded.

“The First Order are planning an attack- multiple attacks. We don’t have the resources to extract this information from our contacts and we  _ need  _ to know what they’re planning.”

Poe took a breath, jaw grinding, “General- you really don’t mean-”

“I’m afraid so, I need your help with this,” she looked at them both, through her steely gaze Finn could see the flashes of sympathy, he didn’t understand,

“General what do you need us to do?”

“You and Poe must infiltrate the First Order.” 

Finn’s throat constricted,  _ oh.  _

“I know that neither of you are too familiar with clandestine operations but I need someone I can trust.” Leia said something to Poe, but Finn was holding his caff down with more self control than he thought he had ever possessed. A shudder went through him at the thought of having to put the bucket back over his head- swimming memories of his dreams gnawing at the back of his mind. 

Poe’s hand on the small of his back brought his consciousness back to the present, his eyes were dark and his face hard, he turned back to Leia with a grimace and then back to Finn. 

“The First Order has been quiet… too quiet.” Leia said. “Our spies have reported that apart from routine raids everything has stalled for some reason.”

They were silent like that for a few minutes. Finn’s mind raced with heady feelings he couldn’t quite place- and not in the good way. 

The First Order  _ had  _ been quiet, Leia was right. If this  _ was  _ as dire as she believed it to be then he should trust her- he  _ does  _ trust her. But being back in that uniform made his blood turn cold, he made a face at the thought of it. Poe was just as pensive, hand not moving from the small of Finn’s back but by stars that was a welcome comfort, an anchor no matter how small. 

“If we do this…” Finn started, both Poe and Leia’s head snapped up in surprise, the pilot nodded encouragingly, “what would we have to do?”

Leia took a deep breath, “You know the ship better than anyone, Finn, the plans will be close to the main bridge, the  _ Resurgence  _ is more heavily protected- they’ve learned from their days in the Imperial Empire and I know it won't be easy. The information should be downloaded onto a datatape and you are to get out of there as quickly as possible.”

“So a regular day at the office then?” Poe said acrimoniously, raising an eyebrow that made Finn huff out a small laugh.  _ Turn here  _ echoed in his mind as he remembered the last rendezvous they’d had on a Star Destroyer.

“I want to do it, General, it’s just that-” Finn faltered, not really knowing how to describe the little monster without sounding like a lunatic. “I don’t think I can put that helmet on again.” It was a weak excuse. He felt useless, what was it? What was it about some dumb plastic helmet that made him feel like the world was caving in on himself? Why couldn’t he just do his job?

Leia raised a hand, a slow and sad smile moving across her face with the gracefulness of a comet in the night sky. “I understand, Finn,”

“What if I put the uniform on too?” Poe said suddenly, Finn whipped his head to look at him as if he’d really gone mad this time- but the man looked deadly serious.

“Poe? What?” Finn asked, he shrugged in reply,

“We could do it together- and at any time you feel like you need to get out we find somewhere safe to meet and I carry on and you wouldn’t have to wear the uniform alone. You can talk to me through the Comm.”

Finn’s head spun, feeling better for knowing that he wouldn’t be alone. He scrubbed a hand over his face, all the sleep-deprived weariness catching up on him in nought but a few moments.“It would be easier to get around, having a prisoner just means unnecessary questions.” 

Poe’s hand stayed firmly on his lower back. Leia regarded him with concern, but for a few minutes Finn didn’t really care. He could laugh- the absurdity of it all just coming back to haunt him. 

“I can do it.” He said finally, “I’ll do it.”

“Finn- are you sure?” Poe’s voice was tight with concern, Finn nodded to the both of them. Determined to do whatever he could.

“As I’ll ever be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh ho ho???? A new mission it is???? let's see where this goes!
> 
> no beta we die like men but please yell at me so i can change anything that needs fixing


	3. Poe is Subjected to the Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chats. Laughs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A DAY EARLY!!!!!  
> this is because I hit 69 followers on tumblr and also i have no impulse control.  
> Quarantine sucks so i hope you enjoy this chapter. I know things can be hard at times like this and i hope you are all staying safe.  
> Leave a comment if you like!!! they make me so happy and help me keep writing!!!

The bunker door slid open. His and Finn’s shared bunk was a relatively comfortable place. There were holographs on just about every surface you could fit them. Poe liked holographs. They caught every moment of your life and kept them safe for when you couldn’t remember them. Two beds took up the opposing walls, one for himself and one for Finn- each had their own personality that kind of…  _ crashed  _ in the middle. Poe didn’t like to say he was messy- he was  _ chaotically organised-  _ like the fact that he had several datatapes next to the left leg of his desk- and that the blueprints for a modified A-wing were behind his bed frame. 

Finn’s space was a little more controlled- but he’d come a long way since having everything in perfect military order. There were little pieces of flimsy everywhere- like,  _ everywhere,  _ some had little reminders on them and some were little stories or sketches of random things. Poe didn’t like to go through them, knowing that it was Finn’s personal stuff, but he liked to know that Finn was finding what he loved.

Speaking of what Finn loves: Rey. She seemed to occupy most of Finn’s thoughts at just about any time. Poe flopped back onto his bed with a sigh, staring at the photo of the three of them on the little shelf above Finn’s bed. It was obvious to anyone that had eyes that Finn loved her, but to be honest the feral girl was growing on him. She could fly, he’d give her that. 

Poe stretched out and grabbed his datapad from the bedside table, staring at digital blueprints seemed to be the best option at the moment.  _ That’s it Poe, ignore your failing love life and throw yourself into your work.  _ He could almost  _ hear  _ the beeps from BB-8, who was probably with Finn, who he’d fallen in love with ever since he’d put on that damn jacket.

No, no that was still him.

An hour of scrolling through several different mod-prints that he could add to the Resistance fleet without defying the laws of physics (he had tried once before- it did not end well). The bunker door slid open again and Finn bypassed his bunkmate and fell face-first onto his own bed with an audible sigh. 

“How was training the new recruits?” Poe chuckled,

Finn groaned in response, “Those kids are going to put me in the Medbay,” he turned on his side to look at Poe, one cheek squished against the mattress. Poe couldn’t help the look that escaped him. Finn was  _ adorable.  _

“How are you feeling? About the mission?” He asked for lack of a better subject, Finn’s expression turned into a grimace, 

“I don’t know… It should be okay but…” He trailed off, “If we figure out what the First Order are after, what then? It’s not like we have the manpower to take them down on our own.”

Poe hauled himself up and sat down next to Finn. 

“We’ll be okay, I know we will. The Resistance may not outgun the First Order but we do have something… We got hope, and drive, and you and me… We count for something and I have no idea where this mission will land us but I know that there’s no place I’d rather be.” That was true. Poe wouldn’t give up this life for the world- the Republic Navy hadn’t cared if the First Order were monsters- but the Resistance had. And they fought for what was right.

Finn leaned up on one shoulder, a smile playing on his lips, “thank you, I needed to hear that.”

Poe smiled at him- he hoped it didn't make him look as giddy as he felt whenever Finn looked at him like that.

“Leia says that she’ll try and contact Rey,” Finn said, Poe’s giddy mood dropped like shit out of a waste disposal. “If this is as big as we think it is then we’re going to need all the help we can get.”

Poe  _ wanted  _ to be annoyed, but they were right. Rey  _ was  _ their best option to help them if things  _ were  _ worse than they thought. He didn’t have to like it though. “When will she be here?” He asked noncommittally, Finn shrugged,

“I don’t know.” He said, he pushed himself up and sat upright, and so very,  _ very  _ close to Poe. The pilot swallowed, feeling guilty for enjoying the closeness so much. It wasn’t that Finn wasn’t an affectionate person- he damn well was- it was just that when he was ever so close to Poe that his heart seemed to want to jump out of his chest. His palms got sweaty and all the swagger and charm he usually had went up in smoke. Kriffing hell he had such a schoolboy crush on his friend it wasn’t funny. 

It didn’t help when Finn said: “Hands?” and held out his palm- Poe felt the blood rush to his face. The three of them had this unspoken agreement that whenever things got them down they’d make sure they were there for one another.

“Hands.” Poe said, as he took it.

__

They didn’t hold hands on their way to Mess. Poe knew it was a very private thing for them to do- and if they did it anywhere on base where people could see that the rumours would fly faster than his X-Wing. He and Finn chatted absentmindedly, since the new donations from a few old Rebel sympathisers had granted them a few new ships Poe had been literally  _ dying  _ to take a look at them. Finn listened intently and gushed about the new recruits, saying how they’ve all started improving, Hugo was a deserter just like him, and they had bonded over finding a family in the resistance. Finn was especially proud of him and it made Poe beam whenever he’d talk about his recruits.

Mess was loud, as usual. You could hear Jess and Bastian arguing over something from the entrance and Poe chuckled and nudged Finn to look at the scene- the two of them were caught in a stalemate- Jess was scowling at Bastian, their hands both gripping the last piece of garlic bread. Finn snorted as they got their food and sat with the Black Squadron. Snap looked up and visible relief washed over his face. Jess and Bastian didn’t move, still holding eye-contact. 

“Poe! Finn! Thank the Gods! They’ve been like this for ten minutes,” Snap shot a look at them both, Poe chuckled,

“I’m just surprised she’s not got her blaster out yet,” Finn said, taking the seat opposite Poe.

“We can hear you and I  _ will  _ shoot you,” Jess deadpanned, narrowing her eyes at Bastian who returned an impressive counter-scowl.

“Who’s your money on?” Poe asked appraisingly, shovelling his dinner into his mouth, 

“Don’t encourage them,” Snap sighed defeatedly,

“Jess.” Finn said without hesitation, “ten credits,”

Poe raised an eyebrow, Bastian broke concentration for a second and sent an offended look to Finn, “hey!”

Jess took advantage of this and promptly snatched the bread out of his hand and stuffed it in her mouth.

“Ha! Sthucks to ‘ee you!” She taunted, Bastian made a face like an angry puppy.

Poe chuckled, 

[Jess threaten to maim someone yet?] It beeped, Poe barked out a laugh and Snap snorted into his cup of caff. Finn shot a look at the two of them, and laughed when Bastian begrudgingly translated,

“It’th gar’ic ‘read- ‘uck oth.”

[Charming]

Poe smiled down at the little droid and the conversation continued. Jess and Bastian still in a mind-war about the bread. Snap talking animatedly with Finn about a new comic book that had just come out. Poe huffed out a little laugh, Snap had been dying to talk to someone about those comic books and Finn had practically inhaled them all in one weekend. 

[What’s wrong, Poe? Your heart rate has increased by 4 beats-per-minute.] 

“No reason, buddy,” he said, not taking his eyes off of Finn. BB-8’s lens followed his gaze and the little droid beeped in what was painfully obviously a sigh,

[Oh yeah, sure]

Poe sent it an incredulous look, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

[That your undying love for him is so obvious a Sarlacc could see it.]

Poe let out a strangled gasp, motioning violently for it to  _ shut the fuck up.  _ BB-8 laughed and he looked up to see the group giving him bemused looks- well, Finn wasn’t, he actually looked rather confused.

[Finn doesn’t know Binary, dipshit] 

“Was that smug? That sounded smug,” Finn said, still trying to puzzle out why exactly Jess was near weeping with laughter into Snap’s shoulder. Poe hid his face in his hands, praying to every God out there that he could fight the blush down.

“It’s nothing-  _ shut up Jess!”  _ That just made them laugh harder.

“Alright, alright. All of you” Snap said, trying his best to calm everyone down. Poe steadfastly remained with his face hidden from view. “Leave off the Commander,”

Poe pulled up enough nerve to lift his head, “at least one of you has common decency,” he said, 

“Like anything you think about is decent,” Bastian wiggled his eyebrows for dramatic effect,

“Can somebody  _ please  _ tell me what you’re talking about?” Finn whined,

Poe swallowed as Jess turned to him with that fucking glint in her eye. The same one that was definitely going to be the end of him. He knew it was no good trying to tell her to be quiet, and so he decided that screaming internally for the next few minutes was sufficient enough.

“Poe has a huge crush, we’re just messing with him,” she said nonchalantly, hiding her smirk by taking a sip of caff. Poe’s stomach did a somersault as Finn sat forward with his eyebrows at his hairline,

“On  _ who?!”  _

“Nobody- no one at all-” Poe tried to interject, wanting to retain at least  _ some  _ of his dignity.

“I can’t tell you that,” Jess said with a sly glance to the man that was currently wishing for death. “But Dear Poe never shuts up about him.”

“Jessika Pava I swear on everything that is good-” he raised a little, cheeks burning like fire,

“Oh sit down lover boy,” she quipped, 

Poe sat back and risked a quick glance to Finn, but found nothing but an empty seat. He whirled around and saw Finn’s retreating back as he quick-paced out of Mess. Jess let out an apologetic groan and Snap sent him an apologetic look,

“Sorry, Commander,” Bastian said quietly, “we were just having fun.”

“It’s fine, guys,” Poe sighed, “it’s not like I’ve ever got a shot with him.” He took another mouthful of his food, ignoring the gluey coldness that came along with it. 

__

Finn returned to their shared room, his heart sitting uncomfortably in his chest as he changed into his night clothes. Hopefully they would have more information on how exactly they were going to be able to get onto the Star Destroyer- and if Rey was going to come back with them. Stars he hoped she would. He needed some of her advice, Kriff, she’d probably tell him to hike up his skirt and just kiss Poe already… well, not that that was going to be an option now. Poe liked someone else,  _ duh. Of course he did- _ did Finn honestly believe that Poe Dameron, leader of Black Squadron and greatest Pilot the resistance has ever seen, possibly be interested in an ex-stormtrooper? He felt dumb. He  _ was  _ dumb. All the soft looks that he’d been misinterpreting over the past months coming back to haunt him as they turned from looks of affection to that of pure pity for Finn’s lack of experience when it comes to the galaxy.

Finn’s little stomach monster came back with a vengeance at the thought of having to face him again, snaking its slimy little body up towards his heart. He was  _ not  _ going to cry. No. Not at the thought of Poe and some faceless stranger, or how Poe had become absolutely breathless and flustered at the mere  _ mention  _ of them. No.

Finn sat on his bunk with a huff, picking up his datapad and checking to see if there had been any sort of contact from the  _ Millenium Falcon  _ in the few hours he hadn’t been staring at it. Still nothing. He hoped that Rey would be with them soon, she had left to find what had become of Luke Skywalker on Anch-To. After the battle with Kylo Ren hearing from her had been a luxury. He was so proud of her, to be able to go and figure out who she is and hone the power of the Force. He could sometimes feel it, when she would come back- the blue waves of pure  _ power  _ rolling off of her. She was special. And she was going to help lead the galaxy to a better future. It was more than that though, she was his best friend. Other than Poe that is… but Poe hurt to think about. Poe, and his ruggedness and cocky attitude, who fought with this fierce passion and had pride in himself and everything he does. With his faceless stranger. 

Finn wondered when he’d be meeting this mysterious love interest. Jess and Snap and Bastian had all seemed to know about them, hell, even BB-8 did… but to be reasonable Poe treated the little beeper like his own son so playing the pity card on that was a little unfair. Poe told BB-8 everything. He had  _ got  _ to learn Binary.

The bunker door slid open. Speak of the devil and he shall appear: Poe ducked in, taking one look at Finn and fixing his eyes on the floor as he made his way straight to the ‘fresher.  _ Oh shit.  _ It must have been real fucking conspicuous when the mention of Dameron’s crush came up that Finn  _ happened  _ to storm out of Mess like a bat out of hell. Yep,  _ yep _ , he was screwed.

BB-8 followed behind him and happily rolled over to Finn, letting out happily little bleeps and dings. Finn couldn’t be bothered with the mental effort to try and puzzle out what the droid was saying.

“I got that buddy,” he mumbled, although he in fact, did not get that.

BB-8 made a long warbling sound with several random beeps at the end. Finn took it as some sort of complaint about Poe’s living standard.

“I know Poe’s a mess, I’ve told him.”

_ That  _ was an angry bleep. For a droid BB-8 was exceedingly expressive.

“He’s telling you that your comic books are blocking his charging station, moron!” Poe’s voice came out muffled from the ‘fresher over the sound of running water.

He was  _ not  _ going to think about Poe in the shower right now.  _ Anything  _ but Poe in the shower.

Finn snorted and got up to move a few stray comic books that had been tossed onto BB’s charging station, “you have a manipulator- you could have moved them y’know.” He grumbled.

BB-8 bleeped, Finn took it as a sarcastic comment and rolled his eyes, petting the little droid’s domed head. “I need to try and learn Binary, huh? Can you teach me?”

There was an almighty crash from the ‘fresher and a muffled string of Yavini curse words.

_ If droids could smile _ , Finn thought with a laugh,

“You okay there?” He called, the water shut off and Poe emerged in the doorway wrapped in a towel.

“He called you a schmuck.” Poe said bluntly, blinking water out of his eye.

Finn swallowed, trying to keep his calm- it’s not like he’d never seen Poe like this before- they shared a bunk for Gods’ sake, and sometimes on missions privacy was a luxury. Poe’s hair fell in messy waves and the towel hung loose over his hips. Finn looked away, busying himself with his datapad.

“Anything on the First Order operation?” Poe asked, pulling the towel up a little higher. Finn shook his head, going through random applications for lack of better things to do than stare at his very naked friend.

“Nothing yet, Operation McFly is still in prep.” He replied, Poe barked out a laugh,

“Operation  _ McFly?”  _ He raised an eyebrow with a smirk,

Finn puffed out his chest a little, “Yes- what’s wrong with that?” He asked defensively, Poe’s smile widened and Finn’s worries about this mystery love interest dwindled.

“You’re naming a super-secret-resistance-undercover-operation after a  _ comic book?”  _ He said, disappearing behind the ‘fresher door and reappearing in his sleep clothes.

“They’re good!” Finn stood from his bed, fighting down a smile and pointing an accusing finger at Poe, “you’re just jealous because Marty McFly is cooler than you are.”

Poe let out a scandalised gasp, dramatically placing his palm on his chest, “How  _ dare  _ you,” he said, feigning offence. Finn could see the smile playing on his lips and was still struggling to keep his own down. He drew back, throwing his arms in the air as if to say  _ I cannot believe I’m dealing with you right now.  _

“Marty McFly cannot  _ compare  _ to me, Mr. Comic Book Nerd.” 

It was Finn’s turn to gasp, he whirled around, “you take that  _ back!”  _

_ “Never!” _

Poe took a step forward, poking Finn in the ribs and making him leap. The pilot gave a triumphant cry and advanced. Finn retreated and jumped on the bed- perfectly clearing BB-8 as the droid squealed, running around Poe’s legs to distract him. 

“Marty McFly is a  _ God,  _ Poe Dameron,” Finn cried, Poe stared up at him with a wicked look in his eye, “he travelled through time! Tell me when you’ve ever travelled through time? Hm?  _ HA!  _ You can’t!”

Poe’s jaw dropped. He turned and leapt onto his own bed, shaking his fist, Finn threw his head back and laughed. He loved when they got like this. When they didn’t know what was going to happen, or one of them would be called away and not come back- but they laughed and joked and got into stupid little fights. He liked the way Poe’s eyes crinkled at the corners when he laughed, and how he’d raise the one eyebrow when making fun of him.

Finn’s thoughts were interrupted as Poe sprung off his own bed and landed dangerously close to Finn. Poe laughed brightly. Jabbing at Finn’s side and obviously reveling in the shrill squark he got out of him.

“I’ll have you know I went undercover once!” He exclaimed, Finn stuck out his tongue like a child,

“Not the same!”

“It counts!” 

“Does not!”

For lack of a better reply Poe took another poke at Finn’s side, making him squeak. Finn returned in kind and was more than glad to see it had a similar effect.

“McFly is the best.” Poke.

“I’m better.” Poke.

“He travelled in  _ time.”  _ Poke. Poke.

“I’m a Commander.” Poke.

Finn narrowed his eyes, “Marty McFly is better than that Mandalorian you love so much.” Finn jabbed him in the chest, triumph spreading through him at the absolutely  _ cheated  _ expression that passed over Poe’s face.

“I can’t believe you’ve said that.” He said, Finn wasn’t worried if he’d hurt the pilot’s feelings. Finn wiggled his eyebrows as a challenge,

“Wanna bet, Flyboy?” He said

A different look passed overtook Poe, one that he couldn’t quite read. It was gone as quickly as it came and suddenly his legs went out from under him and he was on his back, gasping for air as the man in question tackled him.

“You’re crushing me.” Finn wheezed out, “room… becoming… dark…”

Poe didn’t budge and let out an offended gasp, “I’m not that heavy,” 

“Tell that to my ribcage,” Finn replied, Poe lifted off of him and Finn became acutely aware of the lack of space between them both. His arms bracketed the sides of Finn’s head and Poe’s hair was a little mussed and his shirt was all wrinkled up- Finn didn’t have to look down at himself to tell that he didn’t look any better. Poe quickly lifted off of him and Finn sucked in a breath. He worried for a moment but Poe shot him a winning smile. Finn felt the little monster take damage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yell at me if i got anything wrong  
> tumblr: @/flyboy-and-fight-me


	4. Can Droids Be Morning People? Poe Dameron Finds Out The Hard Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A simple recon mission- or is it?  
> BB-8 is not a fan of being woken up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like writing this, I do it for me as much as I do it for other people. I'm just feeling kind of unmotivated because ye'know quarantine and stuff  
> I really hope you enjoy this chapter (a day early because I have no impulse control)  
> Comment what you think- or even if you hated everything about it because at least I'll know what not to do!

It was still dark out when Poe’s comm buzzed on his bedside. He blindly reached out for it and groaned. Early recon mission alert.  _ Great _ .  _ Fantastic _ .  _ Wonderful _ . He blearily rubbed his eyes and stumbled over to the ‘fresher, doing all the necessary work before returning out in his usual underclothes. The water had been colder than usual and although it left a chill on his skin it was actually kinda refreshing. Mornings on D’Qar were usually warm and sticky, the morning dew clung to the atmosphere and created a syrupy fog around the planet. It wasn’t very different to Yavin IV, where the humidity seemed to move with you in the summer months before being completely washed away by monsoon season. 

Poe tapped BB-8 on its head; the droid beeped to life.

[What?] 

“Come on buddy, we got recon,” Poe whispered, BB-8 beeped in annoyance,

[Sometimes I wish you weren’t a morning person.]

“Yeah well suck it up, kiddo we got work to do,” 

He barely contained the following tantrum and hushed the little thing as to not wake Finn, who was still passed out face down in his bed, blanket lying aimlessly around him. Poe glanced back at his sleeping form with an affectionate smile before ducking out the door.

__

“Morning lover boy.” Jess said brightly, Poe’s face scrunched in confusion,

“The fuck are you so happy about? And shut up.” He said, 

Jess gave him a coy look, throwing him a small metal object. Poe looked down at it. It was just a cylinder of durasteel; the remanence of the barrel of a blaster maybe? No- it was too big for that- this was a part of a ship- an escape pod or shuttle of some kind, but those were common on base. He held it up with an incredulous look,

“What’s this?” 

Jess rolled her eyes, “There’s an insignia on the inside- we think it might link to a First Order arms dealer.”

Poe blanched, pulling on his flight suit and falling in time with Jess as they made their way to the hangar bay- he called it that, but it wasn’t much more than a cluster of resistance ships. All of them haphazardly placed and a few unrecognisable under heavy modifications. The smell of machine oil and grease was welcome as they approached.

“Where did you find this?” He asked,

Jess shook her head, “patrol went out yesterday and found a few scraps of stuff they thought they could use for parts- the jungle out there is full of litter from crash sites and smugglers. The insignia is from an old First Order ally. One that hasn’t been seen here for years.”

“Where did they find it?”

“Six miles west?”

Poe nodded- if this was indeed new activity they needed to know where they were operating from and if they were able to find out anything about the Resistance base. He looked at the insignia, two bantha horns curled outward surrounding an unfamiliar symbol. Whatever it meant it was definitely not from D’Qar. Poe’s skin crawled. He had a bad feeling that whatever this had come from had already done its work.

They met up with the rest of the team and cornered round a map of the surrounding areas. Poe pointed to a section; “We’ll start from where the patrol said they found the barrel, at least then we’ll have a rough idea of the area we’re scoping out. Jess-” He pointed the the more northern part of the squardrent he had penned off- “You and I will take the higher ground, see if there are any sort of settlements in the thicker foliage- Suralinda and Snap will take the lower ground and we’ll do a loop of the area. If there are any campsites or wreckage on the ground, shout  _ immediately.” _

Black Squadron nodded and within ten minutes they were up in the air. Poe’s heart began to steady as  _ Black One  _ soared into the hair- the two groups of them in formation. The itch that always seemed to overtake him before a flight ebbed away. Like he could finally breathe again after holding it in for so long.

The sun was peeking over the horizon as they emerged from the canopy of the jungle and a warm golden glow lit up their ships. Poe loved being able to fly within the atmosphere of a planet- to feel the weight of the life below you. The beauty of D’Qar was unquestionable. The large, hanging trees that stretched for metres rustling in the warm wind and the low rumble of the insects of the forest floor sang like a lullaby. 

“We are approaching the target zone, everyone keep an eye out for suspicious activity.” Poe’s voice crackled across the comm-line, a line of agreement followed from each of his command and they split off from each other. Jess flew out in order to scope a larger area while keeping Poe in line of sight.

Poe’s eyes travelled across the emergent layer of the forest, scanning for any sign of unnatural life. He didn’t want to think that there might be something foul going on at the D’Qar base… or if there was another spy. His blood boiled even thinking about that son of a bitch Terex. He shoved the memory down as far as it would go and focused. His heart leapt into his throat as a flash of unnaturally bright white caught his eye through the trees,

“Black One to Blue Three- hang back on the North side- I’ve got organic signals to my left.” Poe said into the comm. His heart beat a little faster as he pulled his ship a little farther out in order to stay at least somewhat inconspicuous. What was that? It didn’t seem like anything natural to the D’Qar wildlife. Stormtroopers were a better option but what would the First Order have to do  _ here?  _ For all the resistance knew they were still in the clear and out of reach from The First Order tracking beacons. The thought of a spy scratched at the back of his mind like a trapped animal. 

_ “On your six, Black One, I’m coming in to your right- how do we proceed?”  _ Jess’ voice came through, Poe strained his eyes for a minute to see what he could figure out through the foliage. 

The white organism was stark against the dark green and brown detritus of the rotting forest floor, snaking its way to an unknown destination. He couldn’t see any remainder of a ship and if they had missed anything on their way up, Snap and Suralinda would certainly have seen something by now. He bit his lip. The mysterious person made their way farther west, Poe sighed,

“Jess, go farther north and see if you can find any crash sites for a ship or remains of a camp- I’ll see where the organism goes.”

Jess’ confirmation came through clear and she peeled away from Poe’s starboard. He watched as the white flash took several twists and turns and his stomach did a flip-  _ two. _

A second life form appeared out of a denser patch of foliage, coming into a clearer area so Poe could see their uniforms shining in the early morning light.

Stormtroopers.

Their uniforms were rumpled and streaked with the orange soil of the ground and their helmets were off-kilter. Poe pulled back, dropping out of their line of sight. The Squadron was roughly eight miles north west off the base- travelling their on foot was long and dangerous- they risked losing eyes on whatever the two were doing.

“Snap, Sura- have you found any wreckage on your part?” He asked, waiting for a response and keeping a firm eye on the two stormtroopers- they seemed to be conversing. 

_ “Nothing yet- wait-”  _ Snap’s voice crackled over the receiver and Poe shifted in his seat. _ ”I’ve got smoke- small shuttle, AT-3V shuttle pod about a mile south of you. Coordinates 364.753.” _

Poe sighed- these ‘troopers were either defectors or had been a part of a failed mission. The shuttle they’d crashed in sounded like an escape pod. Guess there was one way to find out.

“Black One to Black Squadron- I’m going to land and engage with life-forms. Snap I need you and Sura to head back to base and tell them where we are- we can’t risk losing sight of them.”

_ “What about me?”  _ Jess asked, Poe moved toward a clearing at the top of a knoll, making sure to keep his T-65 out of range of the ‘troopers.

“Cover me- if they’re hostile I'm gonna need some help.”

Poe jumped out the cock-pit and made his way down to where he last saw the two of them taking refuge behind a tree to peek out into the smaller clearing. The thick underbrush of the trees made it easy to keep himself hidden. With one hand on his blaster he crouched below a particularly foul smelling plant and prayed that it wasn’t anything poisonous.

The clearing gave way to mossy stones that the two troopers were perched on and Poe strained his ears to hear what they were saying. He caught fragments. They spoke about where they had to go. Food. Water. Everything you’d expect survivalists to take note of.

One was slightly shorter than the other. They stood side by side at the far end of the clearing, scoping out their surroundings. Two helmets lay at the trunk of a nearby tree, as if that would conceal what they were. Poe shuffled a bit, getting a better look at their faces. 

They were both male, the shorter one having dark hair and tan skin not dissimilar to himself. He had a wide bridge on his nose and hard, deep set eyes. Despite that, he looked young, and it hurt Poe’s heart that someone with so much left looked so battle-worn. The other man however was tall and lanky- his face was all sharp angles and stark white skin. His shock of red hair brought out his freckles and thin lips. He looked no less innocent. 

Poe took out his blaster and readied himself, praying that Snap and Sura were able to get back to base and get the word out. He moved forward and emerged from the undergrowth, watching as panic flooded the stormtrooper’s faces. The shorter one acted on instinct and his hand went straight to his hip where his blaster should have been. Poe held his hands up as a form of surrender,

“Relax- I’m not going to hurt you.” He said steadily, the ‘troopers eyed him wearily and Poe could feel the sweat on the back of his neck run down his back from the aching humidity of the jungle. 

“Are you with the resistance?” The gangly one asked, narrowing his eyes. They didn’t seem to be armed and Poe guessed whatever worldly possessions they had were destroyed in the crash.

“My name is Poe, I’m with the resistance.” It was a risky move to reveal who he was, yeah, he knew that, but he did it anyway because what are they gonna do? A voice in the back of his head that sounded suspiciously like Finn said  _ Kill you. _

The shorter one stepped back as recognition passed over his face. He turned back to the red head and nodded, he stepped forward; “I’m DC-419,” he said, then pointed to his freckled companion, “this is WS-674… you can guess what we are.”

Poe nodded and sent them a friendly smile. Now that he got a better look at them he realised just how young they really were. They looked like  _ kids  _ for stars sake. “Do you have names?” He asked, wondering. 

“I told you- DC-4-”

“No, like- like  _ real  _ names, not codes” He bit the inside of his cheek, “you aren’t numbers.”

The two men looked at each other, Poe huffed and placed his blaster back into its holster. “My friends should be here soon, we’ll help you.” Ever since Finn had come into Poe’s life he’d always had doubts about engaging with stormtroopers. The thoughts that flooded his mind when someone said something derogatory about them made his skin crawl. Finn used to be one of them. He had been forced into that life. And now looking at these two kids that looked just as beaten down as Finn once had made his blood simmer. They deserved a home. They deserved a family. Just like everyone did and none of this was their fault.

“How did you escape the First Order?” Poe asked, 

“We were, um,” DC started, trying to gather himself. The crash must have really knocked them for six. “It was a raid on a town on Trigalis- we were supposed to be supporting but, but we left our command and got onto the nearest shuttle we could find. We jumped and since neither of us have ever piloted before… we ended up- ended up here.”

Poe’s nose scrunched involuntarily at the mention of the outer-rim planet. It was a hole. Literally. The place had seedy dealings left right and centre, he’d heard stories from the intelligence operatives that Trigalis had taken a nose-dive since the days of the galactic empire and the population had soared to near breaking point. He hated to think of what the First Order could possibly want on a rock like that. 

It unnerved him that they were so  _ close. _

He was about to ask what the operation exactly was when the roar of a scout vehicle soared over their heads, clearly clocking their location. Poe smiled- Snap and Sura must have made it back well enough. 

He turned to the two ex-’troopers with his naturally charming smile, “Gentlemen, our ship awaits.” 

The two of them stayed close as they made their way to the clearing where Poe had left his X-wing while the pilot himself kept a close eye on them. There didn’t seem to be any physical damage save for a few nasty cuts and bruises and he was impressed that they had managed to survive the crash- especially when they had such a lack of piloting skills. When he had stolen the TIE fighter back when he and Finn had escaped the First Order it had taken him all of his knowledge and skill to be able to keep them from dying a fiery death.

He shrugged the feeling off for now. Although he was apprehensive to take them to the rebel base so freely he didn’t feel comfortable leaving them out in the wilderness to survive on their own. Maybe Jess was right- he’s mellowed in his old age.  _ Pfft. Old age. He’s 33 for Force’s sake.  _

The flight back to base was fast and Snap, Sura and Jess met him in the hangar bay. The two ex-troopers stuck out like sore thumbs. Weary glances followed them as pilots and mechanics gave them wide berths, not trusting their uniform. BB-8 rolled up to the group as they gave quick recounts of the mission.  _ Paperwork, so much paperwork  _ he lamented.

[Leia wants you to bring the new organics to her]

“Nice to see you too, buddy,” Poe huffed. The four of them made their way out of the hangar bay and into the several twists and turns that lead to the General’s command centre. 

“Have you two thought about names?” Poe asked casually,

“Dominic.” Said the shorter one meekly, a small smile played over his lips as he said it. Poe beamed at him, remembering the day Finn had taken his name- well, not taken  _ his  _ name as in Poe’s name. Although Finn Dameron did have a  _ wonderful  _ ring to it- but the day Finn had chosen to call himself Finn, on Poe’s suggestion. 

Poe whirled around and walked backwards as he talked- he’d been to the General’s office so many times he could do it in his sleep. Actually did once, it was not a fun conversation to have with Leia while in his undies. “And you?” He asked the taller one, whose narrow eyes locked against his. He shook his head silently, a light rosy tinge spreading across his pale cheeks.

“No- not yet, sir.” 

Poe snorted, “I’m not that old- call me Poe,” the poor guy went a brilliant shade of pink. “What about…” Poe cocked his head, studying him for a second, “Wesley?”

It was an unusual name but his mind was blank to all else so he shrugged. The kid gave an enthusiastic nod, accepting the name. Huh, maybe that should be his day job, naming people. Nah, that was stupid.

“What do you think BB?” He asked, looking down at the droid.

[I don’t care. They can’t stay.] was his only response before he sped off in front of them. 

What the kriff? Poe couldn’t understand why the droid would say something like that? Surely it couldn’t be because they were stormtroopers because Finn loved BB-8 just as much as he did. Something was off with the little beeper, but he didn’t exactly have time to find out why BB-8 was acting like it.

The General had a hard expression on her face, one that Poe had been seeing a lot after Crait. Wesley and Dominic stood at attention, ramrod straight under the scrutiny of General Organa. Poe smiled encouragingly at the two, trying to alleviate some of the awkwardness in the room despite feeling a little nervous himself.

“I will make it simple.” Leia started, taking in each man with a stupefying gaze, “are you here to cause harm to anyone on this base?”

The two of them shook their heads. Poe shifted his weight, not liking the growing tension between the three of them. He admired Leia’s affinity with the Force, and how she could pick apart a man with nothing but a look, but the coolness to her features was unnerving- she didn’t trust them. Dominic opened his mouth to speak, but Wesley beat him to it;

“We want help.” He said, “we want to join you.”

Leia didn’t let up, instead motioned to Poe, who moved closer so she could whisper something to him. “Go and get Finn,” she had that look in her eye. The one that told him they had to tread carefully with these two. Poe nodded resolutely- if anyone knew anything about the way stormtroopers act it was Finn. he had been raised in that environment and knew every little quirk they had to follow. He rushed through the base, foregoing his easy saunter and jogging to the medbay where Finn would no doubt be before training- Kalonia pestering him about something or other that needed sorting. That would have to wait. Two defecting stormtroopers don’t just magically appear eight miles off of a rebel base. Nobody is that lucky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment to help motivate me to write more!!  
> love you all and hope you're staying safe!


	5. I Think We Broke Him, General

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mission prep.  
> Poe learns a few things  
> Finn does too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty. This is a shorter chapter and things should be picking up from now on, I think I'm going to update a little more often but idk yet. If you still like this leave a comment!! it really helps my motivation to carry on  
> I have a lot planned for this fic, like... a lot and I'd like to actually be able to write all of it.  
> Stay Home, Stay Safe.   
> Love you

Finn chatted to one of the mechanics who had fallen from the cockpit of an RZ-2 A-wing and broken her arm. He liked having conversations with people from all over the base. He liked the pilots and mechanics the best because they always seemed to have the same swagger to them- maybe he was just projecting a little bit because of Poe but he guessed there had to be some cosmic law to have to have a natural charisma to be a pilot. 

The mechanic he was talking to, a young Togruta woman with warm umber skin and purple head tails named Pavi Tah, was telling him about her son taking his first steps the other week. He listened intently, revelling in the warm feeling of joy spreading through his chest. He had never seen children allowed to be so free back in the first order. They were always regulated specific hours for recreation, but here- while it was still dangerous- kids were allowed to be kids and were not forced to do anything they didn’t want to do… except maybe eat their vegetables. 

Finn got Pavi’s arm into a splint and set her up in a sling, conversation flowing easily. He told her about his stay in the resistance and tried his best to ignore the faint look of pity on her face instead steering the conversation towards the wonderful drawings she had on her arm in colourful stylus markings. Apparently her son had an affinity for using his mother as a canvas. 

When Pavi had thanked him and Kalonia had given her pain medication Finn set about doing his usual tasks- cleaning the space, making the beds and making sure that everyone was okay. He passed a few new friends he had made and made small talk. His thoughts drifted to Poe, as they always seemed to do at some point or other during the day.

He had left early in the morning, probably on an early mission. He let himself smile privately at the memory of the night before, just being able to mess around with his friend without fear or awkwardness. He fully intended to get Poe on Team Marty McFly, and Snap would help him with that, he just knew it. 

“Finn!” 

Finn turned around at the sound of Poe’s voice, the pilot bounded up to him, gripping his shoulder,

“Leia-- needs your help-” He said between pants,

“What- why? Is something wrong?” Panic began to rise in his chest- had something gone wrong on their mission? Was the First Order involved? Was anyone hurt?

Poe waved his hands, shaking his head vehemently, “No, no- we found two defectors- Leia wants your help interrogating them or something.”

Finn nodded, not really following Poe as he recounted what happened on the mission- the little monster in his stomach writhed at the mention of there being two Stormtroopers that just so happened to be on D’Qar. Poe and him walked at a quick pace to get back to the General. The uneasy feeling he had had a few nights ago coming back to haunt him. He reached for Poe’s hand, not really bothering to think about the amount of people strolling by them. He barely noticed the half-glances as he entwined their fingers to ground himself.

Everything was very up-in-the-air by the time they reached the General, Poe having rushed through everything. Apparently Dominic and Wesley had survived the crash which seemed to be a miracle, Poe said that the ship was in pretty bad shape. He let go of his hand as they entered and Finn got a good look at who the troopers were.

He blinked several times, staring at the two of them. He recognised them from his squadron. They were grouped by age and by recruitment. He had seen them a few times, when they had been allowed to take off their helmets in private. The shorter one- Dominic he assumed, looked at Finn like a deer in headlights. Wesley gave a small wave before Leia appeared in front of him. She ushered Poe and Finn to the opposite side of the room, speaking lowly,

“Finn. You know better than anyone what it’s like to defect.” She started shortly, “make sure they are not here to hurt us.”

Finn nodded and gave a weak smile, eyes flicking back to the two ex-’troopers. He had  _ hoped  _ that there would be more defectors, more people like him that he could relate to about the abuse of the First Order. He wanted to be hopeful, he  _ wanted  _ to help them be better than they had ever been promised they could be. To show them what being a part of a family was really like… but something was off, Poe said that they crashed, who could survive something like that? And the odds of them coming from Trigalis to D’Qar were too close to be just coincidence.

Nevertheless he wanted to trust them, he squashed down those thoughts because defectors were almost never treated like human beings. He wanted to give them the benefit of explaining themselves.There was always prejudice against them and it hurt, especially when trying to find out where you belong.

Finn looked at Poe- who’s eyebrows were knitted and he was only half-listening to what Leia was telling them. His eyes were still glued to the two men across the room. They were talking to each other, heads bent inward and Wesley’s pale skin had gotten paler (if that was even necessarily possible. Finn honestly believed the kid had never seen sunlight). 

He searched Poe’s face, knowing that he was having some trust issues with the two of them, and he couldn’t really blame him. When they had been alone one night and talking about past traumas, y’know, like best friends do; he had told him about the spy that the First Order had placed in the resistance and Poe had vowed never to let that happen again. 

For a second his thoughts strayed as to why he trusted Finn so easily, but shook it out of his mind. He had more important things to do than over analyse every interaction he had ever had with Poe in the hopes of finding some sort of romantic connection between the two of them.

Finn nodded to Leia and went over to Wesley and Dominic. They regarded him with the same ramrod obedience they had shown in the First Order; to ease the situation he smiled at them and motioned for them to take a seat around the centre table. Poe and Leia made sure that no sensitive information was displayed on the top and joined them.

“You’re safe here,” Finn said. He remembered being so scared of being in the resistance, not because he wanted to return to the First Order, but because of the years of dehumanisation that they had drilled into them and how he was scared nobody would accept him. “How did you survive the crash?”

Wesley was the first to speak, he had dark circles around his eyes making him look sallow in the bright light, “When we saw we were going to hit the ground- we uh, we ejected…” 

Finn nodded in understanding, “are you both okay?” They nodded in return, “how did you get away from the First Order?”

“A- a raid. On Trigalis. We were support but we broke ranks and escaped.” He said, eyes flicking between the three of them. Finn cocked his head, studying them as he had seen Leia do to others. 

Wesley was hunched, afraid, waiting for something to happen. Dominic seemed relaxed, very little tenseness in his movements. The two characters were easy to distinguish, but he couldn’t quite place the feeling that he got when he looked at them. 

“Why are you here?” Poe asked, Finn could see why they would be intimidated. In this light Poe looked every bit the face of the resistance with his wide shoulders and rugged appearance, he looked  _ ready  _ if he could explain it like that, like he could just up and go and fight the entire war by himself at the drop of a hat. 

Dominic looked as though he was struggling with his words, then opened his mouth to speak, “Because it’s the right thing to do.”

Finn could have laughed, remembering the banthashit excuse he came up with when trying to help Poe, “You don’t have to lie to us… it’s okay if you just wanted out.”

They visibly relaxed and nodded, Finn gave them a smile he hoped was reassuring. Leia cleared her throat to get their attention, she eyed them all with that look of hers that made you feel like you were talking to your mother. 

“I’m sure we can find a place for you here. But I must warn you that if anything happens to make me regret showing you trust you  _ will  _ regret it.”

__

It was later in the day; once Wesley and Dominic had been taken to the medbay and given bunks to sleep that Finn and Poe found themselves in the General’s office. She no longer had the kind look that she had this morning. No, Finn saw the panic clinging to her, his palms began to sweat and the ugly little monster in his stomach feasted on the flesh of his fears. He looked to Poe, who was always right beside him, his shoulders tense and jaw grinding. 

“We recovered the two uniforms that you’ll be wearing on the mission. Wesley has helped us identify the shuttles that go to and from the ship. Poe I think you’ll be more than happy to know that they are heavily armoured and if you get into trouble…”

“Yes, General?” Poe said, Finn could see he was swallowing his glee,

“Fuck them up and get the hell out of there. But  _ please  _ be smart about it.” She admonished

“When am I not?” He said

A smile overtook Finn, hearing the general talk so casually to them made his chest lighter- like they could actually do this without anything going wrong.

“When do we leave?” He asked, 

Leia turned her eyes on him, a small smile on her lips, “you need to be careful, Finn,” she said, “and make sure the flyboy over here doesn’t get himself blown up.” Poe’s jaw dropped and Leia winked at him. Finn nodded to her, an unspoken promise passing between them that he would take care of Poe, and that Poe would take care of him. 

“You leave tomorrow night. Wesley says that their next raid was to be on Orvax IV. The city there is wealthy… too wealthy to be  _ just  _ a trade port. They’re known to traffic illegal weaponry and slaves. You’ll sneak onto the ship during the raid. If you need to, use any means necessary to get the information we need and get out of there.” Leia stood back, appraising her two boys. “Operation McFly is now active.”

Finn’s soul left his body.

He let out a bark of laughter and looked at Poe, who blinked several times, 

“You-” 

“I-”

“WHAT?!” 

“Finn isn’t the only one who reads, Dameron.” Leia said with a smirk, 

“Yeah but-” Poe turned to Finn, “you two have been in cahoots?” he looked from one to the other blearily, 

“What the kriff? Who uses the word ‘cahoots’ anymore?” Finn mocked, loving how Poe’s entire being was somehow thrown out of whack. The pilot seemed to get lost in thought, his tongue darting out to wet his bottom lip before opening his mouth, then closing it, then opening it again. This went on for a few moments before Finn exchanged a look with the General saying  _ I think we broke him. _

“Thank you General,” Finn said, Poe quietly looked at the two of them, narrowing his eyes and looking for any sign of nonverbal communication. “We will be ready for tomorrow night.”

Leia smiled at the two of them. 

As they were leaving she reached out and touched Finn’s arm, “I have been in touch with Rey.” She said, He could have leapt-  _ Rey,  _ his best friend,  _ finally  _ he thought. 

He nodded vigorously, Poe returning to his side with a pleased look, “She is on her way back, and will be here by the time you return.” 

Finn let out a joyous sound and Poe clapped him on the back. He smiled, thanking Leia and following Poe out. The corridors were empty by now and it was just the two of them, Finn pushed the monster down as best he could, wanting to enjoy the adrenaline of the thought of seeing Rey again and going on a mission and being with Poe. 

“How the kriff did she know about Operation McFly?” Poe asked incredulously, “How did you do that?”

Finn shrugged, “The Force works in mysterious ways,” he said smugly.

Poe’s face scrunched, “I don’t think that’s how the Force works.” Finn laughed and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. He didn’t know what was going to happen; the mission could go all sorts of wrong… but he looked at Poe, admiring the little crinkles at the corners of his eyes and the strong line of his jaw; the overall  _ jauntiness  _ that just seemed to make him  _ him.  _ This binding feeling that if he got too close he’d be fused to him. He thought of Rey and her feral ways and knowing looks every time Finn talked about the pilot, he thought about her kindness and her love for her family. And he thought that maybe the Force is a little less mysterious than people think. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Share this! Comment!


	6. It's Finn's Turn to Deal with The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn is a disaster, Poe is petty, Rose is just trying to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HERES 4.3K OF FLUFF AND SHIT   
> Me????? Actually liking what I've written?????? It's less likely than you think!!!  
> but yeah im actually okay with this little bit  
> we'll see how well that goes  
> also I finally ordered the technical journal and am foaming at the mouth to get my hands on those blueprints

He was cold… so damn cold. Ice needled his chest, seeping through his shirt and deep into his bones. He was pinned to the ground, face down in the snow… the memory twisted into view… Finn knew where he was… he remembered it, every sound of the battle, the faint reminiscence of the lightsaber that hummed to life in his hand. The scorching pain nasty and bubbling down his spine. He choked back on the bile in his mouth, praying that he could just  _ give in  _ like he had wanted to so many times before; but his mind was not that merciful. 

He lay there, hearing grunts and screams and feeling the burning in his spine spread across his back- his legs going numb from what he had so hoped was just the cold. His breathing shallow and uneven and all he could see were the blinding flashes of blue and red dancing together across the blackness.

His stomach dropped and lurched forwards, landing back on sand. For the first time he could see, really  _ see  _ where he was. Not that there was really much around him. He tested his movements, wiggling his fingers and moving up until he had risen fully from the ground. 

Sand replaced snow and the clear blue skies stretched for miles around him. The dry heat making his head spin and his legs feel like lead, in the distance a speck of red and white glinted in the sun, like a piece of seaglass on the seafloor. 

_ “Poe.”  _ The name escaped him, cracked and broken like a man possessed. He stumbled forward, wishing, hoping, praying that in that glass Poe’s face would appear. That the monster in his stomach that spat and screamed and wailed was  _ wrong.  _ Poe, Poe, flashing visions of him screaming the pilot’s name and pulling a jacket without its owner from the wreckage. He begged the Maker he was wrong. Please, please, please dear Gods be wrong. 

And then he was awake.

His eyes met a cold white ceiling and the covers were drenched in sweat. He was cold- ah, yeah, Finn didn’t have to look over the edge of the bed to know he had thrown the covers off himself, leaving him just in his pajama bottoms. He squeezed his eyes shut, forcing the memory of the dream from his mind. Zoning in on what he could feel in the moment. During therapy the doctors had taught him that when the trauma gets bad that he can focus on what’s around him. Feel the movement of the fabric of your skin, the buzz of the cooling unit, anything that can ground you.

Finn struggled for a minute, then, slowly, something washed over him. It was faint, like a barely there kiss, but he felt as if the world had only just come into focus. The sheets rustled beneath him and the half-morning light trickled in through the windows, casting long shadows that danced across the walls, telling stories in a language older than time. He heard Poe’s steady breaths across the room, and how the morning glow made him look otherworldly… ethereal with his golden skin and wavy black hair mussed from sleep. Taking a deep breath was like drinking clear water for the first time and he had to restrain himself to not gulp it all down. 

His head fell back, taking a minute to regroup before heading to the ‘fresher. He padded over quietly- although he didn’t know why he bothered, Poe could sleep through anything. He’d wake up one day and find out that the entire universe had been wiped out and that he had slept through the entire thing. Finn shook his head with a small laugh, kriff that would be something- bleary eyed Poe emerging from his little cocoon of blankets after the apocalypse.

He looked at himself in the mirror-  _ he _ certainly looked like he’d been through the apocalypse. Dark circles shadowed his eyes and he was covered in a thin layer of sweat. Taking a deep breath he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and began what would certainly be the calm before the storm.

__

Kalonia had graciously granted him a few hours off the rest of the day, the sun was warm against his skin where he lay on a grassy knoll next to the hangar. It was the summer months on D’Qar and he felt like a happy Loth-cat, hands resting behind his head while the warm breeze blew over him. The sound of the starfighters in the hangar and the acrid smell of machine oil calming and his nightmare becoming a distant and hazy memory.

“If you’d stop sitting there looking pretty I’d actually be able to fix this y’know,” Rose’s head popped out from underneath a battered little RZ-2 A-Wing that slumped sadly a few metres away. Finn laughed brightly, cracking one eye open and seeing her black hair practically gelled up with machine oil and a  _ very  _ funny look on her face.

“You know I’m not a good mechanic- Poe-”

_ “Ugh,”  _ she rolled her eyes, sliding back under the belly of the starfighter, “Your boyfriend doesn’t have an ounce of patience in him!”

Finn sat bolt upright, “Poe isn’t my boyfriend!”

He heard a muffled giggle and Rose’s face reappeared, “but you want him to be.” 

Finn put his head in his hands. Rose was a great friend of his, someone he could talk to easily and confide in- he liked her bluntness and her passion for the resistance and her work. She - along with Rey- was the only other person to know about his predicament with the Pilot. She was wholeheartedly supportive and had been teasing him  _ non-fucking-stop  _ ever since.

“Shut up, Tico… Poe’s already got a crush on someone…” Ah, yes, he unhappily reminded himself of that faceless stranger Poe had gotten all gushy over. He rolled his eyes, fucking hell he was dumb- getting jealous over someone he didn’t know? Honestly… maybe he  _ did  _ need to go see Dr. Kalonia.

“Is it that Mandalorian? From those stories?” Rose asked, something within the metal bird clanking loudly as she hit it.

“Fuck don’t remind me about that,” Finn wheezed out a laugh, “and he thinks me liking comic books is weird.” 

Rose laughed, high and bright as they both remembered how Poe had  _ mooned  _ over stories of the Mandalorian Din Djarin. Of all his Poe’s-Secret-Crush stories  _ that  _ one was his favourite. 

“So who’s this person Poe’s got a crush on? Are you doing okay with it?” Rose climbed out from underneath the A-Wing, squinting as she took a seat next to him. He nudged her and threw her a bottle of water that she caught and downed,

“I’m… alright, I guess,” he said, with a shrug, “Poe’s his own person and he can like whoever he wants.” He busied himself by reaching over to grab his canvas bag that he’d picked up on base, pulling out his stylus and flimsi pad, it was a gift from Rey and Poe for what they had declared his birth-day… he didn’t really understand the premise of giving people things just for being born, but the parties were fun and he adored the idea of celebrating somebody’s life. He started scratching random lines, trying to get Rose’s profile right as she looked out over the hangar.

“It’s okay to be upset, Finn,”

“I’m not upset,” he pressed a little harder on the stylus, creating the dark swoop of Rose’s hair. 

Rose sighed, “if Poe doesn’t see how amazing you are then he’s dumber than I thought. He adores you,”

Finn’s heart twisted with longing. “I hope so… I just… I don’t think he’d ever look at me like that- turn your head a little more to the left.” She smiled and followed instruction, 

“You need to show Poe your drawings.” She said, “he’ll love the ones you do of him.”

Finn shot her an incredulous look, “that’s creepy, man.” 

She threw her head back with a laugh, “it’s cute!” Finn rolled his eyes and continued with her hair. It was in a low ponytail with her fringe across her forehead and he could not for the life of him get it right. He squinted at Rose, who made a funny face in return as he  _ finally  _ got the hair to look as natural as he could. 

He dropped his stylus on the grass next to him and handed the flimsi-pad over to Rose. Her eyes lit up as she saw the sketch, smiling broadly as she leaned over and hugged him. When they’d first started chatting there had been rumours that they were  _ together.  _ That had been  _ messy.  _ Rey had congratulated him and then barated him for not telling her, Poe had been off with him (for the same reason) and everyone kept giving him the thumbs up. Rose had fared no better, getting teased by other mechanics and Rey. But they’d consistently denied that there was any romance between them, to be fair he didn’t think Rose even liked guys, she’d fawned over Rey enough times for even him to notice; Finn had been described to be ‘a wonderful, oblivious dumbass’ on multiple occasions and he still didn’t know what they were getting at. Sometimes he was jealous of BB-8. Droid had the easy life. 

“It’s amazing, dude,” she started flipping through the other pages and Finn jumped out his skin when she got to a more recent drawing. It was of Poe, hunched over his desk in their bunk- the light of one of the lamps framing his profile beautifully. He was deep in concentration looking at some blueprints that Snap had given him. Finn bit his lip and hid his face- Poe didn’t know he’d drawn him like that and it seemed… almost intimate that he had. To draw him so candidly and so personally. 

Rose looked up at him with a shit eating grin, “this is incredible,” Finn’s face heated up and he tried to bury himself deeper into his jacket, well,  _ Poe’s  _ jacket. 

“Shut up.” He said, his words muffled by his hands and the growing cloud of shame that seemed to follow him everywhere. 

“You have a talent- Finn would you calm down,” Rose pulled at his arm, trying to force him to look at her. He downright refused. Nope, nu-uh, he was going to wallow in shame because he has a crush on the most desirable man on the base. Yep. That’s his life now. 

“You  _ have  _ to show this to Poe.”

“No I do not! No!” He cried, Rose laughed evilly, 

“Fine then- he’s right there- I’ll do it.”

The contents of Finn’s stomach seemed to want to make an appearance and he pushed it back down, along with trying to get his heart to start beating in his chest again because Rose was halfway across the hangar yard and he could see the wobbling form of BB-8 not far from her, and where BB-8 is, so. Is. Poe.

It took everything not to fully tackle her to the ground, running like a madman and possibly knocking over several pilots along the way. Rose seemed to catch onto this and started up to a jog- which Finn easily matched because despite being in the resistance he hadn’t quite kicked the training habit the First Order had instilled in him from a young age. He moved in front of her and blocked Poe out of sight, she smiled maniacally up at him, knowing exactly what she was doing and the exact effects it was having on the poor man’s nervous system.

“Show him!” She said excitedly, waving the flimsi-pad in his face with a flourish.

“NO!” He whisper-shouted, pulling her around the back of a U-wing to keep anyone  _ else  _ from staring at them. Kriff, he felt crazy- being so worked up over some drawings. But they were more than that. He’d written some of his personal feelings in the margins- little snippets of his thoughts scribbled next to the sketches of his friends. Words he  _ could not  _ admit to Poe right now- maybe not  _ ever.  _

Rose got in close to him pointing at him with a stern look that was really much too adorable to take all that seriously- but she certainly looked convincing enough to make him shut up. “You have danced around your feelings for goodness knows how long- Rey thinks the same- and  _ don’t  _ say she doesn’t because monthly dishing sessions are a thing.”

“I- wait really?”

“Yeah”

“Aww that's cute-”

“Getting off topic!”

“If Poe finds out-”

“If Poe finds out about what?” The blood drained from Finn’s face. His legs went weak and it took everything in him not to run, or scream, or die. Rose went bright pink. It took a few minutes for Finn’s brain to catch up on their exact situation.

Finn and Rose were huddled behind one of their lighter freighters, very close together as to not be seen by anyone. Poe stood a metre or so away, his flight suit half on- half tied around his waist showing a simple tank undershirt beneath. BB-8 was at his feet and Finn could have  _ sworn  _ it was glaring at them.

Finn’s tongue felt heavy in his mouth and he looked desperately at Rose, who seemed to be in just as a mess as he was. Great. Great, gay panic is a very real thing and if anyone says different he’ll shove this memory down their throats.

“Nothing- Nothing- uh,” Finn stumbled over his words, trying to get at least  _ something  _ coherent out. 

Poe raised an eyebrow at the two of them, his expression unreadable. “What am I not allowed to find out about?”

“Finn was- uh, um…” Rose ventured, although he could see that her mind was as blank as a Tatooine desert. 

Poe looked at the two of them appraisingly, as if trying to read their minds. Finn wanted to curl up into a ball and die. BB-8 made a whistle and bleep and Rose’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. 

“BB NO! Oh my  _ stars  _ no!”

Poe sputtered, staring down at the droid in horror and then back at Finn and Rose. BB-8 beeped again and Finn’s brain caught up. 

He jumped a foot away from Rose, “No! No- it was nothing like that- we aren’t- we didn’t-”

He looked back at Rose who had now fully sunk into herself with embarrassment. Poe looked conflicted for a moment before speaking, 

“No- it’s fine, you know what- I don’t want to know. It’s cool,” He looked between them again before beginning to walk away. “You guys can have all the privacy you want. No need to tell me anything.”

BB-8 made several angry chimes before rolling over to them and using his manipulator arm to poke Finn in the shins, it then sped after Poe, who was nearly out of sight.

“What did BB say?” Finn said with a wince- he bent down and touched where the metal rod had hit his leg and winced- the little guy was gonna leave a bruise. Rose shook her head,

“You don’t want to know.”

He groaned. “Poe thinks that we’re-”

“Yep.”

“And it’s gonna be-”

She sighed, “yep.”

He let himself stand upright and lean back onto the wall of the hangar.  _ Poe thinks that there’s something going on between him and Rose- but why does he care? He’s got some handsome stranger to go fawn over- why would he care if him and anyone had been together. _ Rose looked at him apologetically. 

“I’m sorry.” She said, 

“It’s okay- it’s explainable,” he said, shaking his head and pulling her into a quick hug. They appeared from behind the U-wing and stopped dead. Jess and Snap stared at them both with wide eyes, Jess looking as though she was about to start screaming and Snap looking very,  _ very  _ uncomfortable. 

_ “So”  _ Jess started, drawing to her full height, which wasn’t really very much but she still seemed to be intimidating nonetheless. Her anger radiated off her in waves- you didn’t need to be force-sensitive to know that. “You and Rose huh?” her eyebrow quirked,

“No!” They shouted at the same time. Finn pinched the bridge of his nose, Jess’ nostrils flared, and she came in close- now Jess  _ was  _ scary. She glared at him,

“If you hurt my friend, Finn,” she sneered quietly, “I will make sure you never see the light of day.”

Rose weasled her way between the two of them, “Jess- it’s not his fault-” she looked at Finn, still clutching onto his sketchbook. He nodded, giving her permission to show them. Rose opened the pad up and explained what they had been talking about. Jess looked back at Snap and the two of them seemed to have a whole conversation just by looking at each other. The two pilots looked back at him and Rose. 

“Don’t tell him.” Finn said suddenly, knowing  _ exactly _ what was going on in everyone’s mind at the minute. He didn’t want to have to deal with Poe finding out about his feelings through the grape-vine. They were  _ his  _ feelings, and  _ his  _ feelings to reveal or not. Jess and Snap nodded quietly. 

“We understand. Sorry for threatening you.” Jess mumbled, looking away sheepishly, Finn forced out a little laugh, 

“I’d be more worried if you didn’t, Jess.”

They dispersed quickly and awkwardly after that- Finn said goodbye to Rose who graciously gave him back his sketchbook. She had apologised profusely about what she’d gotten him into but it was okay. He could say to Poe that there was nothing going on with him and Rose. He’d done it before when the rumours had first started flying about and he could do it again. Hell, it might even give him the courage to finally show the man some of his drawings. 

Finn eventually did find Poe; huddled away in the cockpit of his X-wing. A string of curses sounded from underneath the command board as Poe tampered with something or other. Finn still didn’t really know how to fly- at least not as well as Poe. Then again, nobody could fly as well as Poe. 

Finn hopped into the small cockpit which was  _ not  _ meant for two people, so he settled for sitting on the edge, apprehension coursing through his veins and making his heart do funny little things in his chest as he waited for Poe to notice he was there. The pilot finally pulled out from underneath the command centre and tried to sit up so fast he banged his head on the control panel. 

“Fin-”  _ clang “OW- _ what the fuck?”

He jumped, Poe moved out from where he was and sat in the pilot’s seat, spinning to face him. Finn tried not to cringe too much at the awkwardness between them- kriff  _ why  _ was it awkward- what made it awkward? Why was Poe acting like this? Why was  _ he  _ acting like this? They could be adults about the situation- it was a misunderstanding. They were friends. Just friends. Rose was his friend. Poe was his friend. That’s it. Why couldn’t it just be that simple?

“I’m okay with it.” Poe said pensively, Finn’s eyebrows graced his hairline,

“What?”

“You and Rose- you’re cute together.” He spun back around, messing with the controls. Several of them lit up and he gave a quiet cheer. 

“Rose and I aren’t together- nor will we ever be!” Finn said, he knew he was getting defensive but he had every right to be- why should it have to be  _ okay  _ with Poe? “Rose is my friend and nothing else- and she has a crush on Rey for fuck sake.”

Poe turned round with an eyebrow raised- okay sure Finn didn’t use bad language all that often but the feeling was warranted. Poe opened his mouth to speak but was cut off, Finn clearly on a roll.

“And why do you even care? It’s not like I need your permission to see  _ whoever  _ I want-”

“I’m not saying you have to get my permission!”

“-And it’s not like  _ you’ve  _ ever told me anything about this mystery girl you’ve been crushing on-”

“I just want you to trust me!”

They stopped short and stared at each other for a long time. Finn was breathing heavily as the adrenaline finally wore off. Fighting was not going to get them anywhere and they needed to fucking  _ talk  _ instead of getting their hackles up. He said as much and Poe gave him a tight nod.

“Rose and I are just friends.” He fumbled about with his sketchbook- the earlier apprehension coming back with a vengeance- as he was about to hand it over Poe stopped him with a soft hand on his. Finn hoped that the breath he sucked in wasn’t as audible as he thought it was; and if Poe noticed it he didn’t say anything.

“I know- I’m sorry I got upset… I just thought that- as your best friend in the whole wide world you’d trust me enough to tell me. ” He sighed heavily. “Especially if you’ve found someone,” he added quietly. “You don’t have to tell me anything you aren’t comfortable with but buddy I’m here for you.”

“I know,”

“And that crush is… it’s just a crush,” he said a little sadly, “I don’t think it will ever become anything.”

Finn felt lighter at that. The faceless person suddenly began to fade and gave him at least a small glimmer of hope. Poe smiled at him and Finn fought down the urge to push his curls away from his face. He took a second to appreciate the way the pilot looked in front of him- in his element with his hands and arms streaked with machine oil and his hair all messy. He was clean shaven, the ghost of a five o’clock shadow darkening his features in such a glorious way. 

“So Rose got the hots for Rey huh?” Poe said casually, breaking whatever moment Finn had imagined them to be having.

He snorted, “yeah, she’s talked about her non-stop.” 

Poe chuckled and Finn couldn’t help but feel his gut tug and pull at him, wanting to be closer. He ran his thumb over the cover of the sketchbook and took a steadying breath.  _ Now or never  _ he thought.

“This is-uh-” he began fumbling to undo the little clasp on the side, he opened it to the first page where he’d scrawled his name and the date he had gotten it. Then flicked onto the next few pages that were filled with little musings next to haphazard, blocky outlines of people, places and things. “This is what Rose and I were talking about.”

Poe sheepishly took the flimsi-pad, running a hand over the cover like an ancient artefact he’d just discovered. “Are you sure?” He asked, Finn nodded and Poe flicked through a few of the pages, his eyes lingering on the sketches of their friends.

He stopped short when he got to one of the more recent pages. Finn had been bored in one of their meetings and decided to use the time to draw Poe. The sketch was half-finished and hasty with jagged lines and soft, half-hearted angles. Finn didn’t really like that one because no matter how hard he had tried he couldn’t quite get the fall of his hair right. 

Poe looked up at him with some sort of  _ glow  _ in his eyes, “This is amazing, Buddy,” he breathed, “you’re so talented,”

Finn’s heart warmed at the compliment and he could have stayed with Poe looking at him like that forever. In a tiny cockpit. In the middle of a resistance base hangar. He didn’t care; all he cared about was the look Poe was giving him that he could not place for all the stars in the galaxy but by the  _ maker  _ he loved that look. Poe avidly flicked through the rest of the pages, mumbling little compliments when he saw a drawing he liked, and laughing when he found a random photo of their friends. 

“I’m sorry I stormed off,” Poe said finally, shutting the pad and handing it back over to Finn. 

“It’s okay- it was… confusing for everyone involved.” He shrugged, just wanting the conversation to be over, “we leave in a few hours- have you packed?”

Poe’s eyebrows knit in confusion, then-

“ _ SHIT!”  _

Finn laughed as they barrelled out of the hangar together, getting weird looks from the other resistance workers. Poe sped ahead of Finn because  _ of course  _ that idiot forgot to pack- they would need to be on Orvax IV at  _ least  _ two days before the raid was meant to go down. Poe dodged a few droids trying to weave their way around them and stumbled, allowing Finn to overtake him in an obvious challenge. Finn stuck his tongue out and rushed ahead.

“Oh-  _ real mature!”  _ Poe called, “Game on!”

Finn let out another whooping laugh as he felt Poe gaining on him. He slid round a corner. Poe misjudging the turn and nearly banging into the wall. Little shots of glee shocked through Finn as their bunk came into sight. He managed to hurl himself through the door as Poe tried to grab him.

“Ha! Beat you!” He cried joyfully. Poe panted and shook his head,

“I have nearly ten years on you- cut me some slack.” 

“You’re not  _ that  _ old,” Finn huffed with a laugh, Poe groaned and stretched, giving Finn a wondrous view of his arms. 

Poe walked over to his bed and pulled out a small rucksack they’d be using for the mission. They’d be suited up with First Order ‘trooper armour before they left and then… well… then their mission would begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> drop a comment!! Motivate a sad writer


	7. Smuggler’s Run In With Old Pals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> who said domestic fluff? i said domestic fluff  
> enjoy it while it lasts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i will give you something:  
> Leia /knows/

The hangar was eerie at night. The warm breath of D’Qar suffocating. The clouds had gathered swiftly, chasing away any light that tried so desperately to break through. The planet was dark. Darker than he had thought it would be. The Stormtrooper uniform was heavy in his rucksack, squeezed in next to everything they would be travelling with over the next few days.

The ship they were taking was small and blocky- enough to get them through to Orvax IV without much trouble and hardly recognisable from all the modifications they’d done to it. It had been a small YT-1250 that Finn had affectionately named  _ The DeLorean.  _ Poe had tried to object but he wouldn’t have it, no matter how much Poe complained. He didn’t mind, not really, he just loved how cute the man got when he was riled up.

They walked side-by-side with their limited luggage in hand. Only just having shoved everything he needed for the mission- Poe made a mental checklist of it all,  _ shampoo, conditioner, aftershave, toothbrush-  _

“I think I forgot my hair wax- Finn, I gotta-”

He didn’t finish as Finn shot him a look that said  _ you can survive three days without it  _ and he was  _ not  _ going to argue with him. They’d been okay since the hangar incident and despite there still being some sort of ache in Poe’s heart, he’d been thrown into something far more important than the failure that was his love life. 

They reached the little 1250, Leia waiting for them. Through the darkness her smile was bright, as if trying to will some good luck their way. Finn’s hand slid quietly into his own and he let out a small sigh, taking comfort in the man next to him and the warmth in the look that he gave. 

“BB-8 will be going with you,” Leia said, pulling her coat around her despite the mugginess of the night. “But under no circumstances-”

“Is he to leave the ship.” Poe finished with a smug little smirk, “he’s too well known by the order and will give away our cover-” he caught her admonishing look and his expression softened into fondness, “we will be fine, General.”

She moved closer to the two of them, a look in her eye that he had never seen before. “I know you will.”

She turned her attention to Finn; Poe squeezed his hand, “Finn,” she said with a knowing smile, “you are brave and talented.” She leaned in closer, voice barely above a whisper, “follow your instincts.” Finn thanked her, if not but a little confused but nonetheless promised he would.

Poe swore that if he had a better comprehension of poetry he could probably go on about Finn until the galaxy itself flared into nothing; but he didn’t, so what he could say- what he could  _ understand  _ about Finn, was his goodness. Pure, incredible goodness that shone through him like stars beneath his skin. He loved and he fought and he burned with such intensity that sometimes Poe thought he might have to look away and right now, shrouded in the night he seemed to glow so bright. 

But Poe didn’t look away.

He didn’t want to.

They boarded the ship as quickly as they could and before Poe felt he had the chance to blink they were in the air and leaving the D’Qar atmosphere. Finn flopped down onto the passenger seat behind him with a heavy sigh. 

“Operation McFly is a  _ go”  _ Finn chuckled, Poe spun around on the pilot seat and raised an eyebrow,

“I don’t know what sort of obsession you have with that Marky McFly but-”

“Marty.” 

“What?”

_ “Mar-tee.  _ His name is  _ Marty  _ McFly.”

“That’s what I said,” Poe blinked, 

Finn rolled his eyes. “He’s better than that weird-ass Mandalorian you love so much,” 

Poe gasped, silently turning in his chair and setting the 1250 with the coordinates. There was no active hyperlane from D’Qar to… just about anywhere really, so they’d have to make a stop for fuel before they could make the jump to Orvax IV. Socorro seemed seedy enough not to have any First Order officials snaking about.

“I can’t believe you’ve just said that.” Poe breathed, looking utterly betrayed. Finn smothered a smirk,

“Look inside yourself,” he replied in a funny voice “you know it to be true.”

Poe scoffed, getting out of the chair and stretching, as much as he loved his X-wing he did enjoy the extra space the freighters gave him. The cockpit was only slightly smaller than the one on the  _ Millenium Falcon  _ and had three seats, two passenger, one pilot. Finn was stretched out on the seat to his left with a goofy smile on his face, oblivious to Poe’s glare. 

Poe looked at him for a long while; Finn cracked an eye open and jerked his head, 

“What’s that look for?” He asked, sliding further down his chair, Poe held up his hands in defence,

“What look?” he replied incredulously 

_ “That  _ look,” he snorted, making a gesture to Poe’s face with his finger, who in turn scrunched his nose, grumbling about  _ no i do not have a fucking look _

BB-8 clanked in from the doorway, [He’s staring at you because he loves you]

Poe glowered at the droid, who in turn rolled up and bumped him affectionately and his resolve melted. He bent down on one knee and scratched the little droid’s head. They spent a few moments in silence save for the low warble of BB-8 and the hum of the ship when a thought occurred to Poe, 

“When did Rose and Rey happen?” He asked suddenly, Finn let out a whooping laugh and clapped his hands; he sat upright and a little shot of adrenaline went through the pilot, stars Poe loved his laugh..

“Oh man, my dude,  _ buddy,”  _ Finn started, “Rose has been crushing on Rey since they met!” Poe started to gape, “She never told me any of that!”

“She goes  _ on and on  _ about her! dude you are  _ blind,”  _ He wiped his eyes comically, Poe shook his head in disbelief- how the kriff could he miss that? It was his job to be observant! His life literally depends on it!

[You’re too busy looking at Finn when Rose is there] BB-8 chirruped helpfully

Okay. Poe would give him that.

“Did you hear about Mar’na and Lars?” Poe asked as they made their way to the Galley, wanting both food and a subject change before BB-8 exposed him any further.

It was a small kitchenette with a corner seating area and table, large enough for four. There were obvious signs of wear; the peeling paint on the walls, the way the pipes and floor creaked under their weight. He checked the cupboards for anything they could scrounge up to eat and started pulling things out at random. There had to be  _ something  _ edible.

“No? What happened?” Finn asked, moving a few datapads they had tossed into the table and clearing them a space. Poe grinned at him.

“Mar’na caught Lars  _ cheating.” _ He said, Finn made a squeak as they two-stepped around each other in harmony. Poe clanging pots and pans to heat up their food and Finn getting all the cutlery set up. 

_ “No,”  _ He said, shaking his head in mock disbelief,  _ “again? _ How many times are they going to take him back?”

Poe scoffed, “That’s the thing-” he gestured with the wooden spoon he was holding, “Mar’na--”

[You two are disgustingly domestic.] BB-8 blipped from the doorway, 

“Fuck you,” Poe snipped to the droid. Finn looked at him, a silent question to translate. “He said ‘you two are disgustingly domestic’”

[And in love.]

“And i-” Poe halted and he felt his heart give a dangerous slip. He shot a glare at BB-8, who chippered smugly at him. 

Finn looked between the two of them for a few minutes, trying to figure out what the actual fuck they were doing. Poe ignored his look and turned back to their food with a huff. 

“Anyway-” he threw the droid the side-eye as he rolled past, bumping happily into Finn’s leg, “Mar’na was cheating on Lars with the  _ same guy.”  _

Finn giggled, “fuck that’s a messy situation.”

“I know right?” Poe finished stirring and plated up their food. It wasn’t exactly fancy stuff. In fact it was barely  _ stuff.  _ Rations sucked. He set the plate down in front of the younger man and sat down. He couldn’t help but realise that they  _ were  _ disgustingly domestic.

They talked, mainly about the gossip that they’d forgotten to tell each other. Nox Dura’s sister was getting married, Kelia Martin and Leona Gedoria had started dating. 

He let his mind wander with a private smile; thoughts of their own ship, larger and more spacious than the 1250. He imagined Finn in the early morning, with his still bleary eyes and soft smile. He pictured himself standing at the kitchenette, cooking recipes that his father had taught him; and the two of them, sitting across from each other. Happy. In love. Together.

He shook himself out of that dream as quickly as it came to mind. That was never going to happen, mainly because there was a  _ war  _ going on. And that Finn would never see him like that. They were friends, best friends. Rey had Finn’s heart- just like everyone else,  _ apparently. _ Finn and Rey  _ worked  _ together, they just did. And he was being stupid trying to convince himself that anything would go any other way because the Gods pretty much have a special section of rules entitled: A Thousand and One Ways To Fuck Up Poe Dameron’s Love Life. Rey and Finn were meant to be together and it was cruel to torture himself with the thought of anything like  _ domesticity.  _

_ Then why do you do it? _ A nagging little voice asked him.

Because he’s an idiot that doesn’t fucking listen. That’s why.

“You okay there buddy?” Finn asked, shovelling his food into his mouth, oblivious to his friend’s internal conflict. Poe snapped out of his own head and nodded quickly.

“Yes. Yep. Totally.” Poe avoided having to say anything more by stuffing his face full of the (surprisingly good) food.

He proceeded to ignore Finn’s attempts to catch his eye as they ate the rest of their dinner. Only offering conversation when it was necessary. The two of them chatted noncommittally about things happening on the base and the mission. When they finished Poe took both plates to the sink, 

“I wish we had something to drink-” Finn mused, coming to stand beside him and picking up a cloth to dry the dishes, “some Corellian Ale would be nice,”

Poe made a face, Finn rolled his eyes, “I forget you hate beer,”

“It’s gross- it tastes like licking a bantha foot.” He said indignantly, scrubbing the dishes a little harder. 

“Remember when Jess dared you to drink that spiced beer?” He chuckled at Poe covering his mouth.  _ Oh that had been a night.  _

“My head still fuckin’ hurts from that- and it’s not like you didn’t do your fair share of drinking.” 

“That table didn’t stand a chance.” 

“Not with you dancing on it.” 

[Gee, sure Poe- go ahead and remind yourself about Finn and the gang getting drunk and playing games and dancing shirtless on tables- that’s totally gonna help your situation hmm?] BB-8 made his appearance known. Poe shot the droid a look that very obviously meant  _ shut the fuck up.  _

“I’m pretty sure I still have the scar,” Finn snickered, waltzing over to pack away the few pots and pans that had accumulated as Poe just kept one thing in mind to keep himself off the very dangerous path he was travelling:  _ Wash. Rinse. Repeat. _

“I think you were too drunk to remember getting it,” he replied, 

Finn stuck his tongue out, “well,  _ I’m  _ not the one that said I could-”

“Shut up-”

“-And then started str-”

“-I did  _ not-”  _

“-And  _ then-” _

_ “FINN!”  _

They held eye contact for a long time. Mirth sparkled in Finn’s eyes as he held back a smirk. Oh he loved reminding Poe about how messy he got when he was drunk, all because of that  _ one time.  _

__ “Fine-  _ fine,”  _ Finn held his hands up in surrender, “you win. You are perfectly capable of getting your foot stuck in your mouth while sober.” he smiled brightly “Happy?”

Poe gave him an unimpressed look as Finn stuck the remaining dishes into the cupboard. [Oh yeah, well done Poe, you totally won that one.] 

“Shut up, ya little lump of cosmic shmutz.” Poe mumbled, apparently not quiet enough as both BB-8  _ and  _ Finn gasped. And the young man proceeded to coo over the droid for the next five minutes. 

_ Everyone  _ had it in for him- didn’t they? 

He was going to sleep. That seemed like a better option than having to be around people and things that made his heart do funny little things in his chest. Avoiding personal problems is Poe Dameron’s specialty.

“Night,” Poe called back,

“Night,”

[Love you]

__

  
  


“Where the fuck is my shirt?” Poe shuffled about his cabin, digging through every draw, nook and cranny he could reach. He dropped onto his hands and knees, peeking under the bunk. No shirt.

The freighter was small and had  _ one  _ room that he and Finn had to share that did  _ not  _ accommodate his hips. He bumped into the bedside table trying to stand, letting out a less-than-dignified yelp in the process. The rooms weren’t much different to the ones they had back on base, it was all very military-style furnishing- which he was already used to after being a part of the Republic Navy for so long and then the resistance being minimal at best. There were a few pops of colour that had been worn down over years of use, as everything is when it comes from the resistance. There were little spare parts in the draws, a few loose credits here and there. 

He can hear Finn in the galley and the sizzle of a pan, coupled with the delighted chirps from BB-8. They’d managed to get a good few hours sleep and would be docking on Socorro soon to refuel. Poe didn’t like the idea of having to go to the smuggler’s haven of the Gold System but it was the nearest planet on their way to Orvax IV where they could pick up a few extra supplies. 

Poe dropped to his knees again, ignoring the stubborn swang in his hip from where he’d bumped it several times already. No shirt. Nada, nothing, zilch. What the fuck. He was starting to get cold and figured that a single shirt was not worth the amount of bruising he’d already gotten. He could just ask Finn and pray that he didn’t turn scarlet.

“Hey buddy, have you seen my shirt?” He rounded the corner into the galley,

Finn’s eyes widened as he caught sight of him- what? Was there something on his face? He self-consciously checked himself, looking for any blemishes or anything. 

Finn stumbled over his words, “I- uh- I um… no, haven't seen it.” He whipped back to scrambling the eggs with a little more force than usually necessary; Poe folded his arms over his front, was he making the younger man uncomfortable? Oh kriff the Gods. He did a quick sweep of the kitchen, side-stepping BB-8 accidentally knocking into Finn, who let out a low hiss- 

“You okay? Sorry,”

“Yep, I’m all good.” 

He checked around the back of the seating area, finally finding the wayward piece of fabric and jumping up with a triumphant yell. He came down from his little high with a befuddled look to his friends,

“How the fuck did my shirt end up  _ here?”  _ He scratched the back of his head, 

Finn shrugged, not looking at him as he threw the blue fabric over his head, “I don’t know, man, BB woke me up early for some reason- I didn’t see your shirt anywhere.”

Poe slowly turned his head towards the droid, sitting innocent and quiet in the corner of the galley. “No kidding.”

[You’ll thank me later, you messy organic.] it bleeped, Poe stuck his tongue out, knowing that this was just plain embarrassing and the little fucker  _ knew  _ it.

After breakfast was over the two of them headed to the cockpit where Poe would have to send a transmission to Socorro in order for them to dock.

“D’you think we should have fake names?” Finn asked, sliding into the seat next to him as gracefully as a bantha. “So people don’t recognise us?”

“That would be a good idea…” Poe mused, since their daring escape from the First Order they’d been at the top of the First Order bounty hunter list. Poe liked to think of it as one of his greater achievements. It meant that pilfering pompous ginger ponce General Hugs would have to stare at his pretty face the whole damn day. 

“What do you have in mind?” He cocked his head, leaning in closer to Finn. 

“Well…” Finn started, Poe knew where this was going- mainly because he’d spotted the little bastards on the breakfast table earlier. “Snap loaned me some of the new issues and I was thinking…” he dragged out his words, 

“You’re killing me here buddy- tell me.”

“Okay- Parker and Marty?”

Oh, that didn’t sound too bad- the names were normal enough, he’d honestly half-expected that they’d be weirder. “That sounds good,” he held out his hand for Finn to shake, “nice to meet you, Parker,”

Finn rolled his eyes, but took it all the same, “you too, Marty.”

“You’re loving this right?” Poe said, unimpressed. Finn grinned, doing an adorable little shimmie,

“To my  _ bones.”  _

Disguises were next on the list- they couldn’t really walk around as stormtroopers on Socorro. Poe  _ liked _ having limbs thank you very much. Finn had been messing about with a few of their shirts- trying to find a way to make them seem more… smuggler-y. They’d have to get fuel and Finn had volunteered to go out into the town to get some extra supplies- they’d have to lay low on Orvax IV and so couldn’t set up in a hotel in case someone noticed them and snitched. 

Poe was going over the final checks before they could come into dock at the spaceport, making sure that whatever transmissions they sent couldn't be traced back to them and that their tracking signature was hidden. He’d gotten a message from the resistance base back on D’Qar to tell them when they were going dark so that they didn’t panic when their ship didn’t return any transmission signals. Poe cracked his knuckles and stretched, the bunks weren’t comfortable at all and he was stiff because of it. He turned and padded over to where Finn sat in the galley, still trying to figure out a way to make sufficient disguises for them. 

He smiled as Poe walked in, all soft eyes and shit. Poe was still a smidge embarrassed over that morning,with being half naked in front of his crush and all. Finn held up a piece of material with a triumphant smile,

“I forgot you brought scarves.” He said, pulling what appeared to be one of his scarves over his head and positioning it to cover his mouth and nose by tying it at the back- it looked… surprisingly good on him, like a bounty hunter from those old holodramas he used to watch as a kid.

“What do you think?” Finn asked, “we can just hide behind them when people look too close, and I’m sure there’ll be enough credits to pick up some other stuff on Socorro.”

Poe nodded, actually impressed about how well this was going, “It’ll be a quick stop on Socorro though- so I doubt we’ll have time to get into any  _ real  _ trouble… anything actually fun anyways.”

Finn rolled his eyes and threw Poe a brown scarf, one of his favourites actually. It had been a birthday present a few years ago from Snap. He pulled it over his face and tied it at the back, mimicking Finn’s look, although he was sure he didn’t look as good as Finn did. The man seemed to be able to effortlessly look wonderful no matter what he wore, including his own jacket that he had sported since he joined the resistance. 

They both made their way to the cockpit, Poe flicked a few switches and sent a transmission to the spaceport asking for permission to land. A raspy voice crackled through to them-  _ Bay 55.  _

Socorro spaceport slowly came into sight, it was very industrialised for a smuggler’s den- probably from the funding the criminal gangs that run the place put into it. The durasteel scaffolding weathered by the blazing sun shone like metal toothpicks hanging from the maw of the city. It was weathered and beaten. No one personality dominating over it and more of a mish-mash of several different cultures all piled on top of one another over years and years of turf wars and shootouts and reclamations. As much as the New Republic had tried they could just never make sure their laws reached this hunk of rock. 

This was the place you wanted to go if you didn’t want to be found.

Poe studied the spaceport- at first it was a glaring sore of neglect but as he peered closer, starting to really  _ look  _ at what was around him he realised just how cohesive the place truly was. 

They landed in Bay-55 and Poe turned back to Finn, an easy smile on his lips, “So you get fuel- I get supplies?”

“Sounds good to me- don’t get into any trouble while I’m gone,” Finn pulled the scarf over his face and made his way out of the cockpit, closely followed by the pilot. They travelled down the ramp together, making sure BB-8 stayed out of sight. The little droid was famous now, ever since the whole ordeal with the map to Luke Skywalker. Poe absentmindedly wondered how Rey was doing on her quest to find the famous last Jedi. He assumed she’d probably be floating rocks and  _ meditating, ugh  _ he shuddered at the thought of sitting still for hours on end and thanked the maker that he wasn’t a Jedi.

He bid farewell to Finn with a small smile and a lingering look, wanting to just memorise what he could incase they got split up. He’d learned to memorise what he felt was important to him over the years- his pilot’s transmission callers, just in case they got split up and couldn’t find any other way to contact him; the faces and smiles of his friends and crew mates; four of the resistance’s rondezvouz points coordinates because who the fuck knows what’s going to happen in this war. If his original training in the New Republic Navy had been anything- it had taught him to never be unprepared- and while he was a bit of an idiot sometimes he was an idiot with a plan… whether or not he actually  _ followed _ the plan was irrelevant, but it was there if he needed it. 

The walk down through the main part of the city was a toss, people crowded the streets of the particular sector- an ocean of a market. Several hundred different stalls acted like walls upon walls of different - and highly illegal - items ranging from stolen blasters to carved Bantha horns. Poe took full advantage of the crowd and pushed his way through, keeping his head low in case anyone of these lowlifes were interested in a payday in him. He stopped at a few stalls, making sure to count and recount what credits he had as he picked up supplies. Luckily the traders didn’t seem as interested in his face and more his wallet.

“Kriffing Twi'ileks- that was  _ not  _ worth ten credits.” He complained as he went further into the market. He was busy stuffing the sleeve of a coat into his sack when the shine of a helmet caught his eye- one that he recognised from a long,  _ long _ time ago and- oh  _ shit.  _

Poe turned back around, his footfalls merging with the slow beating of the crowd. His heart hammered in his chest.  _ Shit, shit, shit.  _ He looked back, gripping tighter onto the bag he was carrying. He needed to get back to Finn- if they saw him-

He was pulled from the throng of people and into a dingy little alleyway between two buildings. Dust and grime and urine attacked his nose. He stared at the person who had pulled him in, their helmet glistening in what little light could find its way between the walls.

“Hello Poe,”

“Zorii Bliss...” he chuckled nervously.  _ Kriff.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> toss a comment to your writer! 
> 
> next up: Recon and oh? who’s that?


	8. This Is Fine, Totally, Completely Fine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn is weary, Poe is anxious, Zorii finds this all mildly amusing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop another chappo for y'all  
> Enjoy some jealous Finn  
> I am also working on another fic that should be up sometime soon!!!

Finn was starting to worry. Poe said he’d be back twenty minutes ago and there was still no sign of him. He’d gotten fuel and headed back to the ship, making to stay out of sight. BB-8 whirled up next to him as he watched from the viewport- he could see the bustling crowd just beyond the entrance. Apprehension flowed through him, making him jittery. It wasn’t like Poe to break a promise. Maybe he’d gotten into trouble? Maybe he’d been seen? This mission was a disaster already and they hadn’t even started. 

It was fine, he could wait a little while longer. Poe would be back soon. He trusted him to be able to handle himself. 

Ten minutes.

Thirty minutes.

BB-8 blipped nervously next to him, clearly just as anxious as to Poe’s whereabouts as he was, “I know buddy… Happy beeps, happy beeps,” he mumbled, more for himself than anything else.

It was nearing an hour when he finally caught sight of Poe’s usual messy tangle of hair in the crowd- his face was still covered by the scarf and he… he was talking to someone. A woman in a helmet that concealed her face. Her ourfit screamed bounty hunter and Finn mentally slapped himself out of his stupor- what the  _ fuck  _ was this woman doing with Poe and why was he so  _ happy  _ to see her?

From what he had originally gathered when talking about this mission they had been told that if they came within ten feet of a bounty hunter they were meant to run in the opposite direction and not be cuddled up close enough to be in their pocket. Then again Poe Dameron was simultaneously the best soldier in the resistance and the dumbest fucking person in the galaxy. They seemed close. Too close for Finn to be comfortable. He bit back his jealousy as it reared its ugly head. It wasn’t the time. That was until he wrapped an arm around her. Suddenly that faceless love interest morphed into a woman with a gold helmet. Finn bit the inside of his cheek and pinched the bridge of his nose.  _ Priorities Finn, Priorities.  _

The two of them made their way onto the ship- The woman walked in as if she owned the damn thing. Poe was whispering conspiritally to her, making her throw her head back in a laugh. He felt like he was intruding on a private moment, but couldn’t find himself to really care. He stepped forward, trying his very best to school his features into something other than the burning feeling that was currently taking over his entire body. He didn’t even bother to acknowledge the woman before he was pulling Poe off to the side, making sure the Bounty Hunter was still within his line of sight but out of earshot.

“Poe- what the  _ fuck.”  _ He glared at the pilot, who flinched and made a nervous sound. “We had  _ one job! One! _ Stay out of sight!”

“Yes, I know but-”

Fin put his head in his hands and let out a long sigh. This headache was going to kill him. Poe looked perplexed more than anything else- what did he think this was? Did he think that Finn would be out? That he could… have a few hours alone with her and then just carry on? Was he jeopardising the mission? Was he trying to get back at Finn for the whole ordeal with Rose? 

He looked over at the woman, who was stepping away from BB-8 as he bumped into her, making threatening little shrieks and warbles, Finn felt kind of proud. 

“Who is she and what is she doing here?” Finn bit out, he  _ really  _ didn’t like the way his jealousy got the better of him. But he just did  _ not  _ get a good feeling about that woman. Poe seemed to stumble over his words for a moment or two, casting furtive glances at the masked woman.

“Her name is Zorii… she’s uh- an old friend.”

Oh Finn knew  _ exactly  _ what that meant. He remembered multiple times Jess had teased Poe about having  _ old friends.  _ Finn bit his lip harder, the little monster feasting on his turmoil and growing in the pit of his stomach. It writhed, spitting and nasty. Poe didn’t look him in the eye and instead focussed his attention on her; she stood casually, as if she’d been travelling with them for  _ ages. _ Her posture was calm and relaxed, although she kept her left hand down, close to the blaster she kept at her hip. 

“What is she doing  _ here?”  _ Finn growled out. Poe shrinked back a little, Finn felt bad for a moment before reminding himself it was  _ his  _ fault.

“She’s on the run- and she has information on First Order dealings on Orvax IV- I figured we could help her and she could help us.”

“How the kriff do you know we can trust her?”

Poe was silent for a minute, “I trust her, and you trust me, right?”

“You know I do,” he softened, and hated it. 

“Then trust me on this- Zorii needs help getting away from the gangs- and as long as we can offer protection… she’ll help us.” Finn obviously didn’t look convinced enough, so Poe tentatively placed a hand on Finn’s bicep, “please, trust me.”

“I do trust you. But I am not explaining this detour to the General.”

Poe perked up- “That’s fine, General mom loves me,” He stopped short and sent him a look that said  _ we shall never speak of that again.  _ And despite himself, Finn let out a small laugh.

Zorii seemed to notice their change in demeanor and sashayed up to the two of them,

“Nice to meet you…?”

“Finn.” He replied curtly. He trusted Poe, not this woman.

“Finn,” she repeated, as if testing out his name. He didn’t like it. But that might be a biased argument. She had walked onto the ship  _ canoodling  _ with  _ his  _ crush. He didn’t own Poe. Poe could do whatever and whoever he wanted. He didn’t have to like it though. 

Zorii held out a gloved hand and he hesitantly took it. She nodded her head and promptly removed her helmet, showing- to Finn’s dismay- a beautiful face beneath. 

She had green eyes that sparkled with mischievous intent and a smirk to match it; he could see why Poe liked her. She quirked a brow at him, then glanced at Poe and chuckled softly. Finn didn’t really get why she was… appraising him like that. Like she knew something that he didn’t. 

“How do you know Poe?” Finn asked, trying his best to be casual. Zorii shot the pilot a look he couldn’t read,

“I was on an undercover mission- for uh, for the resistance-” Poe said hastily, “I was meant to find out if there was any illegal funding coming from the First Order and uh… ran into some trouble on Kijimi…” 

Zorii laughed, low and musical, “I see your friend here hasn’t told you about his days as a spice runner.”

Finn’s eyes went wide, “A spice runner? You were a spice runner?”

“I was undercover!” he opposed. Zorii seemed to take this all as very amusing and she strutted towards the cockpit, Finn shot Poe a withering look that said  _ we will talk about this later  _ and followed her. He glanced down at BB-8, happy that at least  _ someone  _ on this ship would be honest.

“The Spice runners got wind of him and I’m the one that helped him get out of it,” she said to him,

“Why?” He knew he didn’t want to know. 

Zorii cast a knowing look to Poe, who chuckled, “my reasons are my own.” Was all she replied. The little monster in Finn’s stomach hissed and bubbled, indulging itself on his jealousy and discomfort. 

“Poe is my friend, Finn,” Zorii said suddenly, and despite his reservations about her… he could tell that she meant it, and that she meant no harm to them. He  _ wanted  _ to believe that she was bad as a way to justify his mistrust and jealous behaviour, but his instincts told him that she was no danger.  _ Trust your instincts.  _ Leia had told him before they left, so, begrudgingly, he said:

“Fine- we could use some extra help.”

__

Poe was dead. 

He was  _ so  _ dead. 

Finn hadn’t stopped glaring at him since he’d brought Zorii aboard- but he  _ knew  _ that she could help. She was smart and capable and knew her way around Orvax IV. She was also a dear friend. He knew she could help- with a few things at least. He hadn’t meant for Finn to find out about Kijimi like that but at least now he could explain it, right? 

He’d tried to tell Zorii on the way there about his predicament- said predicament being that he was completely and utterly besotted by his best friend and the most courageous man in the entire resistance, but he just couldn’t explain it very well.

“You. Are. A human. Disaster.” Zorii said in a matter-of-fact way. 

Finn had set them into hyperdrive to get to Orvax IV- they would be in the system in a few hours at least. He’d then made the excuse that he was tired and shut himself off in his room along with BB-8. That had left him and Zorii alone in the galley. Poe lay face down on the floor, as was his usual position for a crisis such as this. His friend sat comfortably on the chairs, a smirk plastered on her face, 

“I know.”

“Have you told him?” She asked,

“No!” He jumped up, flinging his arms in the air like it was the most obvious thing in the world; “he’s in love with someone else!” 

A very tired look passed over Zorii’s face. He’d seen it multiple times before and he’d  _ probably  _ done something to deserve it but he was too worked up at the moment to really care. She just shook her head at him and then took a very long, very deep breath.

“Start from the beginning you absolute bantha.”

So Poe went  _ off.  _ Everything he’d been worried about since Finn had woken up coming out of him _.  _ He told her everything, about how he’d been rescued by Finn from the First Order, about how they worked together to destroy the starkiller base and how he had fallen in love with him over the course of the year they’d spent together, how he’d helped him while he was recovering from his lightsaber wound and how Dr. Kalonia had permanently banned him from the medbay because he wouldn’t leave Finn alone- and how Finn was obviously in love with Rey. Because she was force-sensitive and the bloody ‘chosen one’ and Finn idolised her. Zorii sat through this, with a patient look and nodding along. She didn’t say anything and by the time that Poe had finished she had leaned forward, deep in thought.

“So. That’s the absolute trainwreck that is my love life.” he laughed mirthlessly,

Zorii didn’t say anything. And that was worse for Poe than if she had started yelling at him. Which she had often done in the past. No, instead she looked at him with pursed lips and that big-sister-glare.

“Have you told him about me?”

Poe cocked his head- then it clicked. “Oh.”

“Yeah  _ oh  _ you kriffing numbskull.” She rolled her eyes. “Look, I’ll go and talk to him because you have your foot permanently wedged in your mouth. I will be here until we get to Orvax IV and then you can carry on doing whatever you two are doing- mmkay?”

Poe nodded mutely, thanking her for not letting him make a fool of himself because his brain short-circuited every time Finn so much as  _ looked  _ at him. Zorii just rolled her eyes and sauntered out the galley. 

__

  
  


Zorii had met Poe when he was undercover- although she hadn’t known it at the time. He’d been a part of the resistance for a little while and was eager to prove himself. She’d liked him; they’d gotten close and she begrudgingly saw him as a brother figure, no matter how annoying he got. The guy,  _ Finn-  _ he seemed to get the wrong impression though, thinking there was something physical between them. Gods Poe was an idiot. Did he not see it? Did he not  _ see  _ the way that Finn stared at him with such gross devotion? Apparently not.

She was at odds with herself. They clearly hadn’t been told about the other’s feelings for them and she could  _ vaguely  _ understand why. They needed to figure it out for themselves. That and seeing them both flounder around each other was going to be absolutely  _ hilarious  _ for everyone involved _.  _

Zorii knocked on Finn’s door and patiently waited for a reply. Nothing. She knocked again. Nothing.  _ Oh, fuck it.  _ She punched the button to the side and stode in, giving Finn an unimpressed look as his head snapped up from his flimsi pad.

“What’s your problem with me?” She asked, a little huffy because of the door incident. 

“Nothing,” the kid replied sullenly. He went back to his flimsi pad and Zorii took a breath, knowing that this poor lovesick fool probably thought she and Poe were fuck buddies. 

“Look, Poe is like my weird annoying brother-” 

He perked up at that.  _ Ah, there we go.  _

“Brother?”

“Yes brother.” She tutted impatiently. “And I’m not going to sell you out to the First Order for a quick payday. You might not trust me but he does and I want you to know that I’m not going to fuck up whatever you two are doing.”

Finn’s lips were sealed tight and he nodded. Zorii gave a short nod back. There. Done.  _ See Poe- this is where you get through communication. C o m m u n i c a t i o n.  _

She left without another word and gave Poe a very tired thumbs up as she re-entered the galley.

“He gets it-” she said, Poe’s eyes widened comically- “no I didn’t tell him.” He relaxed back into his chair,

“I should talk to him, right?” He ran a hand over his face, Zorii gave him the look of  _ what the fuck do you think?  _ And he chuckled, exiting the same way she came from.

_ Idiots,  _ she thought with a smile.

__

Finn relaxed into his bed, the flimsi pad sitting on his chest and BB-8 beeping happily. Seeing Poe and Zorii had been a nasty shock. Then Zorii barging in without a care in the world and telling him that they saw each other as  _ siblings  _ had been an even bigger shock. It did, however, help to know that Zorii wasn’t going to betray them to the First Order the first chance she got. And the fact that she and Poe weren't a  _ thing  _ made it even better. 

His door slid open again and he furrowed his brow at the intruder. Just Poe. Poe, who looked shy and nervous and who Finn  _ yearned  _ to just hold. The pilot sat down with him on the bed, shoulders tense and without a word.

“I’m sorry.” He said suddenly, “I know it must have been a shock. And I know that I probably should have explained everything outright to you.”

Finn sat up, listening intently and trying his best to let Poe know that it was okay. “I know you didn’t mean any harm. But yeah, you should have told me outright about whatever it was that happened and why Zorii is  _ here.”  _

Poe nodded in agreement, “Zorii and I met while I was undercover- I was new in the resistance and it was an undercover recon mission on Kijimi. Zorii and I got close over the few months I was there- but when the rest of the Spice Runners found out I was a spy they came after me and she helped me get out of it.”

“What happened while you were out?” Finn asked, trying to keep his questions one at a time and not let them get confused over what they were on about. He also didn’t want to start rambling and confess that he was jealous.

“I was in the markets- I got everything by the way- and Zorii pulled me into an alley- she’s on the run from a few gangs and drug runners and needed a way off the planet. She saw me and asked for help.”

“Did you tell her anything about the mission?” 

Poe shook his head, “I may be an idiot but I’m not stupid.” Finn made a face but Poe waved him off, “I didn’t tell her anything important- just that we had some resistance business on Orvax IV.”

Finn bit the inside of his cheek, Poe was right. He may have one singular brain cell but he used it when he needed to. “Did you two ever…?” He made a motion with his hands that he was  _ not  _ proud of. Poe let out a mortified shriek, covering his eyes,

“Ew- ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew,  _ ew.”  _ His face contorted into something between horror and disgust,  _ “No! No!”  _

Finn raised his hands in defense, “Had to ask, man,” his glee was short lived as the creeping familiarity of the faceless stranger swam to the forefront of his mind. That mystery was still something to be solved. 

“You still haven’t told me who your crush is…” He mumbled, “It was a fair guess,”  _ smooth one, Finn, real nice segway into getting your heart broken- well done.  _ The voice in the back of his head spoke- sounding obnoxiously like Rey.

Poe’s face went red. “That crush is… nothing- It’s Jess being Jess and  _ BB-8-”  _ He shot the droid a glare, who blipped at him and rolled away. “-being a bad influence.”

“Oh sure,” Finn raised an eyebrow, “because you get flustered like that on the daily hm?”

Poe glowered and the blush reached the tips of his ears. Finn opened his mouth to say something else when Poe held up a hand-

“I do not have a crush- He’s just a friend.”

_ “He?”  _ Finn’s brain snapped like the elastasteel of a slingshot, a blinding little light of  _ hope  _ sprung through him and it was as if the world were a little brighter. Poe on the other hand looked as though he was going to be sick.

“Well- uh- yeah I mean it’s not a secret that I’m bi…” He looked at his hands and Finn’s rubbed his hands together, 

“I’m  _ this close  _ to finding out who has Poe Dameron’s heart!” He said with a forced laugh,  _ this close to finding out who the luckiest person in the world is.  _

Poe rolled his eyes, “Shut up- I’m- ugh.” He covered his face and sighed as the blush reached the tips of his ears.

Finn chuckled and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving his a shake, “I’m teasing,” he said,

Poe put his hand over his own wordlessly- a comfortable silence washing over them.

“I have a weird feeling,” Finn said absent-mindedly, letting whatever had settled around them settle. It was nice, he caught ghosting feelings on his skin. Warmth, rain, pleasant chills. The air had become almost palpable, bending and molding to their bodies. 

“Really?” He asked, coming out as barely a whisper. Finn nodded.

“Like this is just the beginning.”

“I know what you mean,” Poe replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> waheyy we're FINALLY getting somewhere- I promise you the slowburn tag means what it means but things will be speeding up!!!!!  
> yell at me on tumblr @/flyboy-and-fight-me


	9. Don't Give Me That Look

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zorii has to deal with two idiots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao i started another WIP its called Where We Come Alive and I'm nearly 10k into writing it despite starting it 3 days ago so go enjoy that its got time travel and senator obi wan  
> THIS!!! this fic is my baby and i think its going to be kinda light hearted but still pretty serious ive got loads of chapters pre-written so the updates shouldn't take 433 years  
> Kinda hope y'all are enjoying this still????? Nobody's bored yet???? I told y'all it was a slow burn

Finn actually kind of  _ liked  _ Zorii. She was kind of cool and the more time he spent with her the more she saw that big-sister dynamic between the two of them. She was currently lounging on a chair, throwing little pieces of ration bars at Poe, who was trying to concentrate on a datapad. Finn was sketching, Zorii’s helmet was on the table and he thought it was as good a thing as any. He enjoyed doing inanimate objects just as much as he liked drawing people. Rey had often told him he could design her wanted posters and to be honest that didn’t actually sound too bad. Those old holovids of  _ The Wild West of Tatooine  _ had given him more than enough inspiration. Poe groaned and thunked his head down on the table. A piece of ration bar getting stuck in his hair.

“I hate paperwork.” He whined, “I blow stuff up- why do I have to write about it after?”

“Why not just… I don’t know…  _ not  _ blow stuff up?” Finn quirked an eyebrow and Zorii hummed in agreement.

Poe mocked him in a high voice, “If I didn’t blow stuff up my job would literally be useless.” 

“You will take any chance to blow stuff up.” Zorii muttered, sipping her second cup of caff. 

Finn was about to add on but a loud noise from BB-8 in the cockpit alerted them that they had nearly arrived. 

Orvax IV was in sight by the time they’d jumped out of hyperspace. It wasn’t a widely used line from where they had jumped from so the surrounding area was sparsely populated. A few stray asteroids floated about as they neared the grey blue planet, it was littered with grey and white, cities and settlements scattered in a spider web across the surface. Finn felt a tugging in his gut and anxiety welled within him. From the briefing he’d read about this rock their main export was slaves. He could see why the First Order was so interested in it. They could take children quickly and discreetly. Bile rose in the back of his throat.  _ Just like him.  _

Poe didn’t bother sending a transmission down to the starport- they’d be landing on the outskirts anyway and didn’t need the extra hassle of identifying who they were and why they were there. The three of them watched as a large city came into view. Turrets rose high above the lower levels, casting long shadows from the twin suns. They entered the atmosphere and broke safely away from the crowded areas, instead landing in a more remote patch of land. 

Zorii let out a low hiss at the sight, “the First Order do dealings over there- it’s where they have the largest open air market.” Her lip curled, “big business.”

Rocks rose high from the ground, forming a crescent valley that led in a large winding path to the citadel. At first thought the rocks seemed to form a tunnel- one that was beaten down and weathered away by centuries of erosion. Poe landed them next to a stream that snaked its way through the middle, glinting like a serpent in the high sunlight. They were shadowed by the jagged edge of a boulder jutting up from the ground- one ege connecting with the other side as though to form an archway. 

Finn stepped out of the ship, taking the cool air into his lungs. They weren’t exposed here, but he felt naked without the dense foliage of D’Qar. In the distance the river meandered through to the shadow of the city, rising high into the cloudless sky. Twin suns shone bright, but the chilly wind of the mountains swept any warmth away.

Finn pulled his jacket tighter around him, “If we can get to the city by nightfall that should give us around three standard hours until we need to get going.” He eyed Zorii, who had stepped out behind him and was setting her helmet into place. Just because they got along doesn’t mean he wanted to reveal sensitive information to her. 

“I’ll grab the bags ready-” Poe called from inside, “we need to stick to the backstreets if we’re going to have time for any recon.” 

He turned toZorii with a polite smile, “You going to be okay with getting to the starport from the entrance?”

She chuckled, “I can handle myself.”

“I don’t doubt that.”

Finn and Poe fixed the scarves over their faces, making sure only their eyes were visible and that the two heavy coats Poe had bought concealed their weapons. The citadel was not far from where they had landed but it would still be a bit of a walk. He went over the plan in his head, a habit he still kept from his training. This was only a recon mission. They had to find out the quickest ways in and out of the citadel without being detected. They also had to go to the slave markets- he didn’t want to, he didn’t want to have to see the ghosts of people that could have been  _ his  _ people. He had only ever known the First Order. Taken from birth, they had told him. But for a moment- in the realm between asleep and awake he saw them- figures and voices he had dreamed to be his family. 

He looked at the datapad- enveloped in the briefing that Leia had sent them- the slave trade markets were busy and crowded during the days but at night they were shut away within the confindes of the lower city. They would have to refine their plan and stake out possible landing sites for the First Order military. That way they would be able to don their disguises and infiltrate a convoy back to the main ship- from there they had to get to the bridge and download the necessary files without being detected. After that they just had to find a way off the Star Destroyer. 

Simple, right? 

At least Poe seemed to be in a better mood. He jogged up to walk in time with Finn, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he smiled reassuringly.

“We’re gonna be okay.” He stated. it made Finn feel better for a moment. Before the monster in his stomach recoiled, spitting and nasty.

Something was amiss that he just couldn’t put his finger on. It wasn’t anything he  _ should  _ be worrying about- like how they were going to go undetected on a First Order ship where they would be killed without question- no, it was something else. Something that was so close but so far out of reach. A sword hanging over his head.

He looked around them as if trying to spot someone watching them- ready to run back to some command centre and rat them out. His hackles raised at the thought of being watched- an unending instinct that  _ something  _ was going to go wrong. 

The city came into sight and Finn let out a silent breath. It was beautiful. Towers loomed over the graceful curve of a wall that encircled the place. Damascus steel veined through stone that stretched from the ground below like vines. But the closer he looked the more he saw the rotting core beneath. Like a mirage of luxurious food spilling maggots when you eat it. He shifted next to Poe, knowing that he probably could tell too. That this place may be a beautiful sight at first glance- but it was sewn with a thread laced with malice and evil.

“Stick together- I don’t trust this.” He muttered, Poe silently slid his hand into Finn’s and nodded in assurance. 

Entering the citadel was simple enough- there were no heavy guards aside from the ones keeping check on the slave traders. Finn’s heart ached as he saw a young mother, her child bundled in stained fabric, pulled along with several others under the command of a foreboding Kerestian, who snarled and bared his teeth.

Finn and Poe turned to Zorii, who nodded to them both before saying, “I’m sure we will meet again.” And disappearing into the throng of the crowd, the only distinguishing feature her gold helmet that shone in the sunlight.

They turned to each other- frozen for a moment as the busy street moved around them. Finn’s unease made his stomach flip and the little monster inside crawled around his organs. He hated it. He hated having this feeling. Like dull nails scratching down his back and taking the skin with it. He felt like throwing up. He felt like he’d been running and just couldn’t stop. All his emotions clogged his mind and he couldn’t do anything to get rid of them. His instincts clashing with the little monster frothing and foaming and dragging and  _ kicking and screaming and- _

“Finn?” Poe’s voice was like fog. Drifting in the distance. He forced himself to focus on it, to push down whatever was building in him. He forced himself to look at Poe, whose brown eyes mirrored his own panic; he looked him over- the way the fabric of the scarf covered the contours of his face. The way that his voice resonated within his chest when he said Finn’s name. He was okay. He was with Poe. 

“I’m here, I’m okay.” He said, not knowing whether he was telling Poe or himself, but he believed it. 

They moved from the middle of the street and stuck to the walled edge. Finn produced a datapad from his jacket pocket, moving so that it was obscured from the nosing view of anyone else. The overhead map of the citadel appeared on the screen, winding back alleys and main street marked with different colours.

“The open-air market is here-” Finn mumbled and pointed to a large building in the centre of the city, “-the slaves are taken to the lower levels where they’re kept for the night. Our spies tell us that there’s going to be some sort of raid tonight- the First Order are going to try and take as many people as possible, children most of all.” He swallowed and Poe gave him a pitying look. 

“We gotta get on board their ship. That’s the only way we’re going to be able to get to the bridge of the Star Destroyer. _ ”  _ Poe said. He pointed to a piece of land just outside the city- clear enough for a ship. “If we can get onto one of their shuttles- that’s our ticket.”

“We’ll need to scope out the place and get what we need from the ship. We don’t know when they’re going to be here but we’ll need to be ready.”

Finn studied the life of the city. In his year with the resistance he’d seen a lot- much more than he could ever have imagined. The stone work that lined the ground of the streets was the same as the walls. High sloping ramps lead to the upper levels, banked by tall buildings with arched windows and bulb domes. Bridges stretched overhead and Finn’s neck hurt from looking up for so long. Speeders swerved past pedestrians and structures alike.

__ All different species had gathered to trade slaves.  _ People.  _ Some were dragged along in chains while others were carted about in cages- like animals. Rage and sadness welled within him that this seemed normal to everyone around him. That there wasn’t something abhorrently  _ wrong  _ with treating people as if they were property. He gripped Poe’s hand and squeezed; he seemed just as uncomfortable as he did and averted his eyes away from the pleading looks of the crowds of slaves being sold to owners that had no regard for their lives. 

The other side of the ramp gave way to a wide open square. Small freighters and cargo ships docked on the platforms that formed a semi-circle around them. Buildings of all shapes and sizes spread out like a giant spider’s web around the large domed open air market. There were still people everywhere- milling in and out of shops and walking around. He felt a tug at his sleeve and Poe motioned his head to one of the freighters to their left- it was small- barely recognisable from the heavy modifications that had been made to it. Black and gold paint lined the outside and two characters stood in its shadow- keeping themselves hidden from plain sight. 

“What is it?” Finn whispered, they moved away from the bustle of the square- “think they made us?” 

Poe shook his head, “I don’t know, let’s keep moving and see if we can get any information on this rock.”

Finn agreed and they blended with the crowd, moving along to the same beat as their steps and looking around, noting any access points they could use if everything went to bantha shit. In about half an hour they had made a full round of the open air market and were making their way back to the ship. 

“Have we heard anything-” Finn started, but accidentally made eye contact with someone across from them and lowered his voice, “-anything from mom?”  _ We’re being watched.  _

Poe looked at him as if he’d grown another head. Finn jutted his head in the direction of the curious onlooker and he seemed to get the message, sending him a return look that said he understood: Poe had come up with a code to make sure that whenever they thought they had been made they had to  _ Call Mom.  _ Leia liked the idea.

“No, not yet,” he replied casually, “I think we gotta call her though,”  _ We need to get out of here.  _ “I got a hankering for her nerf casserole.”  _ We’re exposed. _

Finn nodded and they made their way back to the gate that they’d come through. His mind alert to anyone that might have a wandering eye. Poe was steadfast against his shoulder. Eyes flicking about for a sign of any threats. They had made it out of the gates of the city and Finn was finally able to take a lungful of fresh air when-

“Stop right there.” A voice came behind them.

The two men froze. Sweat prickling on Finn’s neck. They exchanged fervent glances before turning around to meet their new acquaintance. Finn’s eyes travelled up and down the figure- She was tall, taller than him by half a foot. Her lekku rose high above her head and met her waist. Heavy black clothing concealed what he expected to be a myriad of weaponry underneath and her orange and white skin stood out against the fabric. She appraised them without saying anything more and Finn felt the unease settle in the pit of his stomach. He tried not to breathe. There was something about her- she was young but… old- wise would be a better way to put it but… she  _ felt  _ old. Could people  _ feel  _ other people being old? Was that a thing? He didn’t think so and pushed down the thought for later inspection.

“Who are you?” she had a twang to her accent- one he’d heard before but couldn’t quite place. 

“Marty.” Poe said, forcing himself to relax into his usual charm,

“Parker.” Finn said, still silently loving the aliases he’d picked for the two of them.

“What are you doing here?” The Togruta woman asked, eyeing them appraisingly.

“Why is that any of your business?” Finn asked in the same tone. There was just  _ something. Something he couldn’t put his finger on.  _ He was weary of her- not in the same way he was weary of Zorii but… he felt like he knew this woman. Ugh- maybe in another life.

“It’s not.” Her eyes narrowed. She looked from Finn to Poe and back again. “Nevermind… I thought you might be someone else.” 

And she walked away, without another word. 

They reached the ship in record time, making sure that the Togruta woman from the gate (or anyone else for that matter) followed them. Finn still couldn’t shake the uneasiness from the encounter- nor how quickly said encounter ended. It was a pinprick of a moment. Nothing more. She spoke to them and was gone- but the lasting effects were making Finn feel off-kilter ever so slightly. He shook his head, hoping that would take the thought away. It didn’t.

“We’ll need to stay close to the city if we have any chance of getting on the shuttle.” He said, throwing off his jacket. Poe followed him into the galley, brow creased in thought.

“If we can leave at sundown we might be able to hide in plain sight. I dunno about you but I don’t think two more low-lifes are gonna be noticed in the dark.”

Finn considered him for a moment before speaking, “that would work- we can stay in an alley or something- I think the First Order’s best bet will be landing in the middle of the square.”

“Why?”

“Well, they aren’t exactly subtle now are they?”

Finn chuckled, eyes casting to their bags on the chairs. The bags that held their stolen uniforms. He could feel Poe’s gaze like a physical weight, and he dreaded looking up at him to see the pity in his eyes; but he did anyway, and was pleasantly surprised to find Poe beaming at him, pride so gorgeously evident on his face.

“I know I don’t say it enough but I’m so damn proud of you.” 

Finn’s throat dried and a flush creeped up his neck, painful awkwardness gripped him and he tried his best to suppress it- what did he say to that? When Poe was looking at him like  _ that?  _ It was unfair. The Makers hated him. Or loved him. Or both. He chose to try his best to smile back, trying to convey that Poe was making not falling in love with him kriffing difficult.

“I’m proud of you too, Flyboy.” Was all he could croak out without it all coming out as a maelstrom of  _ kriffing hell Poe you’re incredible and loyal and stunning and I love you so much.  _ Man had to  _ control  _ himself. 

The holo on the table beeped and Leia’s figure appeared. Finn jumped and Poe looked away, clearing his throat.

“Hate to intrude,” Leia said with a sly grin, “but I needa report on what you’ve got so far.”

This launched them into a recount of what they’d seen in the city- and their theories about what the First Order was going to do. But they weren’t there to  _ stop  _ the raid. After they had both finished- Leaving out the strange encounter with the Togruta- Leia put her hand up.

“I have received word from Rey. She’s on her way home.” She said,

Finn let out a bright laugh and his face split into a grin- Rey was coming back and they’d all be together and she could help him figure out what the kriff he’s gonna do about Poe and-

He looked over at Poe, whose smile didn’t reach his eyes. He was about to ask what was wrong when Leia interrupted- 

“May the Force be with you both. I hope you come back safe.”

They said their goodbye and were suddenly aware of how late it was becoming- it wasn’t long. It wasn’t long until they’d be stowaways on a shuttle to the First Order’s Star Destroyer. Finn’s apprehensiveness seemed to show on his face because Poe stepped closer, resting one hand on his chest and the other on his shoulder,

He raised an eyebrow. “We’re gonna do this.”

Finn smiled despite himself, knowing that  _ exact  _ look. “We’re gonna do this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder who that mysterious person could be..... hmmmmmmm  
> Rey is coming soon and i hope she's as feral as you expect


	10. Finn and Poe and The No Good, Terrible, Horrible, Really Bad Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yOU LOT THOUGHT I WAS DEAD HUH? Actually I started working on another fic and procrastinated this one- but we good now!  
> Today is the one year anniversary of my account and I would like to thank each and every one of you for being here and putting up with my endless waffle

It was cooler than that on D’Qar. A biting wind sending hollow music floating in the night. Poe was close to Finn as they entered one of the saloon’s just off the main street leading to the square. It was a perfect vantage point that let them see out onto the rest of this city. Four other moons half-obscured by wisps of cloud hung high in the sky and the sounds of joyful shrieks and cries almost drowned out those of anguish rising from the cell blocks below their feet.

Their heavy coats hid their blaster and their ‘trooper uniforms. They had to be ready in case the First Order attacked or someone had gotten the drop on them. Finn shifted uncomfortable next to him, the weight of the helmet in his rucksack making his off-balance. 

The smell of cheap liquor and dust are the first thing to hit them, there’s a small band playing in the corner and some  _ very  _ scantily clad Twi’lek women dancing on stage. Dark eyes followed them as they made their way to the back, grabbing the only available booth. Several long tables are spotted with different travellers- some playing sabacc, others throwing back their eighth glass of  Dressellian Beer. Poe felt his skin crawl at the seedy clientele this place catered to, figures lurking in the shadows and a heavy smell of smoke made him uneasy but they wouldn't be there for long, hopefully. 

Finn leaned in closer to Poe. He didn’t mind- not at all, but he was so close that he could’ve just tilted his head up and they’d be kissing. The thought itself brought so much distraction that he hadn’t realised what Finn was actually saying.

“Sorry-wha?” Poe moved his head back, trying his very best not to let himself get too flustered. 

“Were you listening?” 

“What’s my best answer?”

Finn gave him that look and shook his head, “I said, ‘we need to act like we’re talking so people don’t get suspicious’”

“We are talking though,”

“Yeah I get that-”

“-Then why are you saying we need to talk when we’re already talking-”

“That’s not what I-”

“-And then confuse me wh-”

“Wait- no,” Poe blinked and fell silent, staring at his friend. Finn was looking out into the street, distracted, eyes narrowed and taking deep breaths. It was a little bit of an understatement when Poe becaun to panic. Somewhere in the back of his head, he would later recall a voice told him that Finn’s concentration was something akin to the look Rey got when she used the force; but for now he focused on the man pulling him out of the saloon and into a back alley, ignoring the crazed looks they both got.

Finn pulled Poe next to him, backs against the side of the building. It stank. It stank worse than bantha shit and he  _ swore  _ there was some sort of slime oozing out of the duracrete. He forced himself to keep his insides from becoming outsides at the thought of the gross shit 

that happened down here. He suddenly found his voice from wherever it had been hiding and turned to Finn, who was peeking out over the corner into the square, his hand stuck firmly to Poe’s chest keeping him in place.  _ Oh no Dameron- don’t open  _ that  _ door. _

“What the  _ kriff  _ is-”

His words were cut off from the sound of ships- shuttles, the roars of engines and the whining of metal gears thrumming through the air so loud and so sudden he could feel it in his knees. The First Order ships could be seen streaming over the darkened sky like black raincloud, swallowing the stars and making way for the artificial light illuminating the ground below.

Several shots rang out before Poe finally kicked his ass into gear and shed his jacket- revealing his stormtrooper uniform. Finn did the same and all thoughts of what had happened in the cantina disappeared in favour of their new objective. Get on the ship.

  
  


It was like a battlefield out on the ground and Finn’s stomach yanked this way and that- trying to force him out of the fight. 

People were everywhere. Stormtroopers in the faceless masks that he had been so accustomed to were now swarming into buildings and dragging out everyone inside. He’d seen this before, in their raid in search for Lor San Tekka. He’d heard the same cries and the same shrieks in different bodies. 

Blaster fire blurred together. 

White stark against the night.

Faces and faceless became one.

The bucket was an unwelcome familiarity. He and Poe stood shoulder to shoulder in the alleyway. Waiting for the right moment to appear. One minute. Another. Another.  _ There. _

They abandoned their jackets. There was nothing left in them anyway. The blaster felt heavy in Finn’s hands and he took comfort in the man beside him. Streaks of red dazzled the darkened square. People. People being dragged by their clothes, limbs, hair, all into the centre. He knew this. 

Suddenly Poe’s hand was on his arm and he whipped his head to look at him.  _ That’s right, you’re with him, you have a mission.  _ He looked back at the people crowded in the centre- they were being pushed and prodded at.  _ Checked. Analysed.  _

_ They’re looking for someone. _

The realisation hit him like cold water. Wesley and Dominic. They were looking for  _ them.  _

“They’re looking for them.” He whispered to Poe, 

“Kriff- okay-” his voice behind the helmet was unnatural, broken and distorted in a way that Poe’s voice just  _ shouldn’t  _ sound. Finn shook off the observation and they headed out into the heat of the raid, shouldering past uniform after uniform and making their way to the nearest available shuttle.

It was cold durasteel and the heavy clanking of his boots that grounded him. He stared right at the stormtrooper on guard and repeated the lines he’d had memorised since before he can actually remember. “Acting order three-nine-two. You’re relieved.”

The stormtrooper deemed it good enough and nodded back silently. The words lay heavy on his tongue and for a moment he was glad he still remembered the billion and one rules he’d had to learn. Poe and him took their posts at either side of the shuttle entrance and watched as each citizen was checked over and questioned- shown pictures of two men said to be fugitives of the First Order. Traitors, as he was. 

They wouldn’t harm them. Neither Phasma or Ren nor Hux was here to give that order. And the city was too large and far too valuable to the First Order to have bloodshed. That much he was confident in. That didn’t mean Finn was totally calm, no. Sweat trickled down his back as he stared out into the square, helpless to the roughhousing some of the ‘troopers were doing to people. But he couldn’t find it in his heart to really and truly care about some of them; namely the slave trader he had seen earlier in the day with thick blood welling from his nose. The thought should have scared him more than it did.

The raid was over as quickly as it began and suddenly he was shoulder-to-shoulder with Poe once more. Nobody had been taken, thank the stars. But now they stood on their shuttle heading back to the command ship. It was a small shuttle- the same one that he’d been sent on on that first field mission. The lights were low and he could smell the tacky scent of the plastasteel armour they wore. The thrum of the engine was the only sound. It moved through him, jostling the monster in his stomach. It had been quiet. Biding and waiting for something he didn’t fully understand. 

His eyes flicked to the other ‘troopers. They’d slotted in well enough, nobody had mentioned anything out of the ordinary and he could only pray that when they stepped off this ship that there wouldn’t be an entire battalion waiting for them blasters raised on the other side.

The ride was shorter than he had expected. They landed in the hangar bay of the Star Destroyer and exited in single file. Finn swore he could feel the fear and the  _ awe  _ at the sheer scale of it all. It was disarming, how Poe’s childlike curiosity for things was so endearing. They kept close and followed ranks. He couldn’t speak to the pilot but knew that if they were to go anywhere they had to convene and regroup. With a quick tap to Poe’s elbow they broke ranks and diverged. 

The hangar was as massive as he remembered it. TIE fighters and all manner of starships and shuttles stood gleaming and proud on landing pads. Cold black durasteel let masses of footsteps echo like stunted songs; he recalled the Imperial March with a rueful smile. Poe tailed him as they made their way to one of the service corridors. They didn’t have much time before the patrol came around but thank the stars they were lucky enough to be alone now.

“The bridge shouldn’t be hard to get to. It’s getting in undetected that's the problem.” Finn whispered to him, “but there should be a side entrance that’s only used in emergencies, if we can lie our way in through there we can escape out that way and I can get us back to the hangar.”

“How do you know where to go?” Poe asked quizzically, Finn rolled his eyes under his bucket, 

“I worked in sanitation- I know every inch of these ships.”

He couldn’t see it but he knew Poe was giving him the raised eyebrow.

Finn swiftly ignored it and pulled them both out from the corridor, standing straight and resuming the militarian one-two-one-two march; beside him, Poe tried to keep up, but as elegant as he was in the air it sadly didn’t extend to his feet. The armour unfamiliar and weighing him down. Finn imagined the ship’s map in his head, his superiors would give them squadrents to go through when they had to be cleaned and he was more thankful than ever that he’d been assigned the bridge more often than not. He took a deep breath and took a sharp left, Poe following him without question. Right. Left. There should be- yes- a turbolift. 

“Okay-” Poe turned to him once they stopped, “We need a reason to be up there right,” 

Finn let out a sharp breath through his teeth, “Yeah-” Poe didn’t let him finish and handed him the datatape they were supposed to get the information on.

“Then I’ll give you a reason.” He could  _ hear  _ the pilot’s smirk.

“What are you going to do?” Was he right to be slightly afraid? Giving Poe Dameron free reign to wreak havoc was never a good thing.

“I’ll meet you in bay 14.” He said before scampering away- all a little too jolly for Finn to be completely comfortable. He steeled himself. He knew what to do.

The turbolift ride to the main bridge was quiet. The air crackled around him like a live wire and he couldn’t shake this  _ feeling,  _ like he knew something. The little monster in his stomach reanimated itself, writhing around in excitement and feeding off of his anxieties. The lift pinged and he stepped back out onto the durasteel platform,  _ you got this, you got this.  _

“Commander.” He said robotically to the other ‘trooper, judging by the markings on his armour it was enough to get somewhere. “There’s been a- uh, hazard on the hangar deck.”

“What kind of hazard? What’s your number?”

_ Kriff. Kark. Shit. Fuck. _

_ “Commander!”  _ A voice from the other side of the bridge was his saving grace. Finn thanked the force. “There’s been a small explosion near the main Hyperdrive generator.”

_ Oh Poe.  _ Finn would have laughed. Of course Poe would do something like that. How the hell could he think any less? The commander looked wildly from Finn to where a very scared technician was standing at the end of the bridge. 

Now or never. He watched as several of the crewmen rushed over to the turbolift- a few other technicians hurried to one side of the bridge where the controls for the hyperdrive were humming- electricity crackling between them and a dangerous red light flooding the room. Sweat trickled down his back and the armour felt heavier than it had ever been. The datatape was heavy in his gloved hands as he jumped down from the bridge and in the kerfuffle plugged it into the mainframe. 

Technology wasn’t really his strong suit but he could decode whatever he needed to be easy enough. He’d spent hours observing the technicians and strategists as they poured over hours and hours of coding that had created most of the First Order weaponry and their plans. He could do this. Flashes of information came up on screen and he filed through them all as quickly as he could, picking up any extra information that might be useful- names, places,  _ ah there it is!  _ The blinking light of a list of names came up, he recognised a few and realised that they were meant to be sent out to several different bounty hunters- all of whom were to converge on some moon in-  _ wait. _

He looked over his shoulder, making sure that Poe’s distraction was still working. It was. He looked back at the screen- something was ringing in his ears, overshadowed by whispers just beyond his consciousness… he stared at the names of the targets… there was something off about the list. He began the download. He dug deeper and something caught his eye, he clicked on it and the whispers were louder, closer. 

They were plans.

Not for another Star Killer Base, no.

This was something else. 

He tried to open the file but a firewall came up. Finn’s mouth went dry and he closed his eyes, the whispers had gotten so loud they drowned out the sound of the other First Order crew. They were saying something. Something, something, something, _ something, something- _

His fingers moved of their own volition and as the screen lit up green, he bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself letting out a triumphant whoop. The plans came up on screen but he couldn’t really make any sense of it, they were just blueprints on top of code on top of  _ whatever-  _ Maybe they’d make sense to someone else. There was another shout behind him and a distant explosion. He didn’t really want to think what Poe was doing down there but he was so glad that it was enough to keep them busy. 

The download completed and Finn ripped the datatape out, turning on his heel and bolting for the turbolift. The shouts grew quiet as he descended back to the hangar levels. Blood roared in his ears as he tried to act as casually as he could. The ghostly mage of those names and those plans and how there had to be something off with them. He’d never been privy to anything important going on in the First Order but there had never been anything that gave him the feeling of crawling out of his own skin. Starkiller base had been terrifying enough- but that had been easy to destroy. It was real and mechanical and right in front of them.

This- these plans were an unknown threat. The Resistance didn’t have any clue what these were going to be used for. This was new and it was dangerous and  _ kriffing hell where was Poe?  _ He turned a corner and his heart leaped into his throat.  _ There’s Poe.  _ An unhelpful little voice chimed. And there he was, being dragged by the arm right towards Finn,

“I’ll take it from here-” Finn said without thought, grabbing the pilot’s other arm, the Stormtrooper already with him cocked their head, 

“Who are you? What’s your number?”

Finn grit his teeth, “I’ll take him to the captain.” He repeated, his anxiety smothered him beneath his helmet, but he… he was calm. Did that even work? The little monster in his stomach grumbled and purred as he spoke- he didn’t like that feeling.

“You’ll take him to the captain.” The trooper replied easily. His eyes widened. There was a beat before Finn’s brain seemed to catch up with the situation at hand and he filed this situation away with the several others that desperately needed time and attention. Two of the things he did not have at the moment. 

“What the kriff was that?” Poe’s voice was shaky, 

“I honestly don’t know.” He said, trying to keep his own voice steady. “We need to get out of here.”

Poe was quiet for a moment, retreating into himself before he visibly shook. He coughed and then looked back at Finn with a nod. “Priorities.” 

For a second everything was quiet between them before-

_ “COMMAND CENTRE CODE I5-43- COMPROMISATION- ALL ALERT” _

High pitched alarms filled the air and the lights went a crimson red. Finn could have done many things at that point in time. He  _ wanted  _ to cuss out whatever maker, god or celestial being that had plonked him in this force forsaken universe. But did it matter what Finn wanted? No! It never fucking does. So with a  _ very  _ loud sigh he grabbed Poe’s arm and just. Kept. Running.

“What the  _ fuck  _ did you do?!” Finn said as they rounded a corner into the Hangar, Poe chuckled quietly,

“I ripped out a bunch of wires,”

Finn could have kissed him or smacked him. Probably both. The jury still seemed to be out and they didn’t have enough time to wait. They stepped out into the main hangar- the blinding lights dimmed ever so while the alarms blared and the shouting ruled. White armour blurred together as the ‘troopers moved all about in masses. He tried not to think about how not so long ago he had been one of them, but then again… he had never  _ really  _ been one of them. Poe tapped him and pointed to a TIE fighter. Finn felt his stomach swoop as several more ‘troopers rounded the corner but they ducked out from their hiding place and joined the march in that direction.

Another shout sounded and Finn spun around. Poe.

Poe was on the ground.

Poe did not have his helmet on.

The stormtrooper that had knocked him down jumped into action. Finn was frozen in place. Staring at Poe and his shock of black hair and his wide eyes as several more ‘trooper’s surrounded them. For a split second Poe stared at him, a silent  _ go  _ left hanging. He minutely shook his head,  _ no, I’m not leaving you.  _

And then several different things happened. Consecutively.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rey? Rey.  
> go check out my other fic Where We Come Alive!  
> it has time travel too!!

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr is @/flyboy-and-fight-me and @/Tinyphantomsalad  
> My messages are always open if you have any questions or if you just want to scream at me :))))))


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